Mark A. Hixon
Helen Thompson
Professor of Marine Conservation Biology
B.A. 1973, M.A.
1974, Ph.D. 1979, University of California , Santa
Barbara
|
|
Dr. Mark Hixon Department of Zoology phone: 541-737-5364 fax: 541-737-0501 e-mail: hixonm@science.oregonstate.edu
|
Overview:
Mark Hixon has been a professor in OSU's Department of
Zoology since 1984. His expertise is the
ecology of coastal marine fishes in both temperate and tropical regions,
emphasizing undersea observations and experiments. He completed his Ph.D. at U.C. Santa Barbara,
where he studied the ecology of kelp-forest fishes, and was an NSF Postdoctoral
Fellow at the University of Hawai`i, where began his
studies of coral-reef fishes. Off
Please see below for a list of Dr. Hixon's publications, as well as those by his recent graduate students. Click here for a recent description of Dr. Hixon's career:
|
|
Teaching: I currently teach various graduate seminars, a large undergraduate course in Ecology (BI 370), a smaller upper-division course in Marine Ecology with a field lab (Z 351/352), and a combined undergraduate/ graduate course in Marine Conservation Biology (Z 464/564), co-taught with Dr. Selina Heppell of the OSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. My teaching philosophy is to provide well-illustrated, up-to-date lectures that are interesting as well as informative, and to relate academic knowledge to the real world. I also explore hands-on approaches, including class debates and other non-traditional tools. My grading reputation is often described as "rigorous yet fair." I have been honored by my students with consistently positive teaching reviews, and with college-wide awards, including the Loyd Carter Award for Outstanding and Inspirational Teaching, the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society "Top Prof" Award, and the OSU Mentors Program. Mentoring extends to engaging undergraduate students, such as Robbie Lamb (2007) and Megan Cooke (2008), as field assistants who accompany my graduate and students in our coral-reef studies. To bring science from the "ivory tower" to society at large, I also present many public lectures on pressing environmental issues. |
|
Research:
My research focuses on the ecology of coastal marine fishes on both temperate rocky reefs and tropical coral reefs, although I have studied a variety of other organisms, including seaweeds and hummingbirds. My major research interests include population dynamics -- particularly the mechanisms that naturally regulate population sizes -- and community ecology -- particularly the mechanisms that affect and maintain local species diversity -- especially in the context of sustaining fisheries and conserving biodiversity.
|
|
Larry
Allen
Temperate
Rocky-Reef Research: My graduate work at
U.C. Santa Barbara with Dr. Al Ebeling focused on SCUBA studies of the behavior
and ecology of kelp-forest fishes, including predation by Pacific electric
rays, published with Dick Bray [now a professor at California State University
at San Marcos] (1978 Science),
competition between species of surfperch (1980 Ecology), and territoriality in black surfperch (1981 Copeia). While in graduate school, I also published a
theoretical model on the mechanisms that determine feeding territory size
(1980, 1982 American Naturalist),
which led to postdoctoral work with Dr. F. Lynn Carpenter [U.C. Irvine] on
hummingbirds (American Naturalist
1983, Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences 1983, American Zoologist
1987, 1988, etc.). During the past
several decades, I have been involved in studies of the distribution of
groundfishes among seafloor habitats on the outer continental shelf of
|
|
Larry Allen
Tropical
Coral-Reef Research: My original experience
studying coral reefs using SCUBA was my postdoctoral work at the University of
Hawai'i, hosted by Dr. George Losey, where I focused
in the effects of grazing by different groups of fishes on ecological
succession and local species diversity of seaweeds in collaboration with Bill Brostoff [now at the U. S. Army Engineer Waterways
Experiment Station] (1983 Science,
1996 Ecological Monographs,
etc.). This work led to a theoretical
model on the combined effects of predation and prey refuges on the local
species diversity of prey, published with Dr. Bruce Menge [OSU] (1991 Theoretical Population Biology). Subsequently, I studied the role of predation
and prey refuges in structuring ecological communities of reef fishes in the
U.S. Virgin Islands with Dr. Jim Beets [now at the University of Hawai'i] (1993
Ecological Monographs, etc.), early
post-settlement mortality of unicorn surgeonfish in French Polynesia with a
team of Australian and French scientists (2004 Ecology), and the role of predation vs
competition in regulating local population sizes of Ambon's damselfish on the
Great Barrier Reef with Dr. Geoff Jones [James Cook University] (2005 Ecology). Currently, my lab works at the Caribbean Marine Research Center
(CMRC) in the
More recently, we conducted studies of the function of marine protected
areas (MPAs), testing the two mechanisms by which MPAs are thought to replenish
marine populations: (1) the
"spillover" effect, whereby fish that settle and grow inside MPAs
eventually swim to adjacent fished areas, thereby sustaining fisheries, and (2)
the "seeding" effect, whereby larvae spawned by fish inside MPAs
disperse to and replenish fished populations outside MPAs. Research on spillover, in
collaboration with Dr. Craig Dahlgren [Perry Institute for Marine Science],
involved tagging and tracking
|
Research Highlight: Invasion of Atlantic Coral Reefs by
Pacific Lionfish In 2007, our long-term research on the ecology of coral-reef fishes in the
My lab is actively studying this invasion, focusing on interactions between lionfish and native fishes. Our first field experiment, conducted by Ph.D. student Mark Albins (right), demonstrated that a single lionfish can reduce recruitment of other reef fishes on a small patch reef by about 80% is just 5 weeks (Albins & Hixon 2008, Marine Ecology Progress Series). If such effects are typical, this could very well become the most disastrous marine invasion in history. Click for more details: Text Video |
|
Professional
Service:
· Editorial Service: I serve on the editorial boards of three scientific journals: Coral Reefs, Ecology, and Ecological Monographs.
· Conservation Service: My conservation focus is sustainable fisheries and fish habitats, especially in the context of marine protected areas. Trained as a fellow of the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program, I sit on the Board of Advisors of the Pacific Marine Conservation Council, and serve on scientific advisory panels for the Sustainable Ecosystems Institute and the Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea. In 2001 (Clinton Administration), 2003 and 2005 (Bush Administration), I was appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to serve on the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee, which I currently chair. I have also served on the National Science Foundation Geosciences Advisory Committee, including as chair of the ocean science subcommittee.
Honors and Awards:
1979: Seawright Award for Best Student Paper, Western Society of Naturalists.
1989: Distinguished Marine Biologist Lectureship, Marine Science
Program,
1990: Eminent Ecologist Lectureship, Kellogg Biological Station,
1993: Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, Research and Teaching at
1996: Offered position as Maytag Endowed Chair of Ichthyology,
1998: Mortar Board Senior Honor Society "Top Prof" Award,
Carter Award for Outstanding and Inspirational Teaching,
1999: Aldo Leopold Leadership Program Fellowship, sponsored by the Ecological Society of America.
Marine Superspeaker Lectureship, Duke University Marine Laboratory.
2001: Appointed to Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee.
Ron Hering Mission of Service Award, The ManKind Project.
2002: Offered position as Mote Eminent Scholar in Fisheries Ecology,
2003: Re-appointed to Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee as subcommittee chair.
2004: President of the Western Society of Naturalists.
Recognition by ISI Citation Index as most cited U.S. author on coral reef ecology in past decade.
2005: Re-appointed to Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee.
2006: Appointed to National Science Foundation Geosciences Advisory Committee.
Elected chair of the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee.
2007: Appointed chair of the National Science Foundation ocean science advisory subcommittee.
Refereed Publications: papers noted with an asterisk [*] can be obtained from me as Adobe Acrobat files:
[Note: As a policy I do not tack my name on my graduate students' publications, the most recent of which are listed below my publications.]
|
* Bray, R.N., and M.A. Hixon. 1978. Night-shocker: predatory behavior of the Pacific electric ray (Torpedo californica). Science 200: 333-334. [included cover photo] |
|
Hixon, M.A. 1979. Competition
between
Hixon, M.A. 1979. The halfmoon, Medialuna
californiensis, as a cleaner fish.
Hixon, M.A. 1979. Term fetuses from a large thresher shark, Alopias
vulpinus.
* Hixon, M.A. 1980. Food production and competitor density as the determinants of feeding territory size. American Naturalist 115: 510-530.
|
* Hixon, M.A. 1980. Competitive
interactions between |
|
|
Hixon, M.A. 1981. An experimental
analysis of territoriality in the
Hixon, M.A.,
and W.N. Brostoff. 1981. Fish grazing and
community structure of Hawaiian reef algae. Proceedings of the 4th
International Coral Reef Symposium 2: 507-514.
* Hixon, M.A. 1982. Energy maximizers and time minimizers: theory and reality. American Naturalist 119: 596-599.
Hixon, M.A.,
and W.N. Brostoff. 1982. Differential fish
grazing and benthic community structure on Hawaiian reefs. Pages
249-257 in G.M. Cailliet and
|
* Hixon, M.A., and W.N. Brostoff. 1983. Damselfish as keystone species in reverse:
intermediate disturbance and diversity of reef algae. Science
220: 511-513. [reviewed in "News of
Views" column of Nature (1983) 306:17] |
|
* Hixon, M.A., F.L. Carpenter,
and D.C. Paton.
* Carpenter, F.L., D.C. Paton,
and M.A. Hixon. 1983. Weight gain and adjustment of feeding territory size in
migrant hummingbirds. Proceedings of the National
Hixon, M.A. 1983. Fish grazing
and community structure of reef corals and algae: a synthesis of recent
studies. Pages 79-87 in M.L. Reaka (ed.) The Ecology of Deep and Shallow Coral
Reefs. NOAA Symposia Series for Underwater Research
1(1);
Hixon, M.A. 1985. Overview: coral
reef community structure and function. Pages 27-32 in M.L. Reaka (ed.) The Ecology of Coral Reefs.
NOAA Symposia Series for Underwater Research 3(1);
Hixon, M.A.,
and W.N. Brostoff. 1985. Substrate
characteristics, fish grazing, and epibenthic reef assemblages off
Hixon, M.A. 1986. Fish predation and local prey diversity. Pages
235-257 in
|
Hixon, M.A. 1987. Territory area as a determinant of mating systems. American Zoologist 27: 229-247. |
|
Carpenter, F.L., and M.A. Hixon. 1988. A new function for torpor: fat conservation in a wild migrant hummingbird. Condor 90: 373-378.
Hixon, M.A., and F.L. Carpenter. 1988. Distinguishing energy maximizers from time minimizers: a comparative study of two hummingbird species. American Zoologist 28: 913-925.
Hixon, M.A.,
and J.P. Beets. 1989. Shelter characteristics and
Pearcy, W.G.,
D.L. Stein, M.A. Hixon, E.K. Pikitch, W.H. Barss, and
R.M. Starr. 1989. Submersible observations of deep-reef fishes of Heceta
Bank,
Carpenter, F.L., M.A. Hixon, A. Hunt, and R.W. Russell. 1991. Why hummingbirds have such large crops. Evolutionary Ecology 5:405-414. [reviewed in "News of Views" column of Nature (1991) 353:796]
Carpenter,
F.L., M.A.
Ebeling, A.W.,
and M.A. Hixon. 1991. Tropical and temperate reef fishes: comparison of
community structures. Pages 509-563 in P.F. Sale (ed.) The
Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs. Academic
Press;
|
Hixon, M.A. 1991. Predation as
a process structuring coral-reef fish communities. Pages 475-508 in P.F. Sale
(ed.) The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs. Academic Press; |
|
Hixon, M.A., and B.A. Menge. 1991. Species diversity: prey refuges modify the interactive effects of predation and competition. Theoretical Population Biology 39: 178-200.
Buchheim, J.R., and M.A. Hixon. 1992. Competition for shelter holes in the coral-reef fish Acanthemblemaria spinosa Metzelaar. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 164:45-54.
Stein, D.L.,
B.N. Tissot, and M.A. Hixon. 1992. Fish-habitat associations on a deep
reef at the edge of the
* Carpenter, F.L., M.A.
Carpenter,
F.L., M.A. Hixon, R.W.
Carpenter, F.L., M.A. Hixon, E.J. Temeles, R.W. Russell, and D.C. Paton. 1993. Exploitative compensation by subordinate age-sex classes of migrant rufous hummingbirds. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 33:305-312.
|
* Hixon, M.A., and J.P. Beets. 1993. Predation, prey refuges, and the structure of coral-reef fish assemblages. Ecological Monographs 63:77-101. |
|
Beets, J.P.,
and M.A. Hixon. 1994. Distribution, persistence, and growth of groupers
(Pisces: Serranidae) on artificial and natural patch
reefs in the
* Russell, R.W., F.L. Carpenter, M.A. Hixon, and D.C. Paton. 1994. The impact of variation in stopover habitat quality on migrant rufous hummmingbirds. Conservation Biology 8:483-490.
* Carr, M.H., and M.A. Hixon. 1995. Predation effects on early post-settlement survivorship of coral reef fishes. Marine Ecology Progress Series 124:31-42.
Starr, R.M., D.S. Fox, M.A. Hixon, B.N. Tissot, G.E. Johnson, and W.H. Barss. 1995. Comparison of submersible-survey and hydroacoustic-survey estimates of fish density on a rocky bank. Fishery Bulletin 94:113-123.
* Caley, M.J., M.H. Carr, M.A. Hixon, T.P. Hughes, G.P. Jones, and B.A. Menge. 1996. Recruitment and the local dynamics of open marine populations. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 27:477-500.
Hixon, M.A. 1996. What is "recruitment limitation" anyway? Reef Encounter 19:5-6.
* Hixon, M.A., and W.N. Brostoff. 1996. Succession and herbivory: effects of differential fish grazing on Hawaiian coral-reef algae. Ecological Monographs 66:67-90.
* Carr, M.H., and M.A. Hixon. 1997. Artificial reefs: the importance of comparisons with natural reefs. Fisheries 22(4):28-33.
Hixon, M.A. 1997. The effects of reef fishes on corals and algae. Pages 230-248 in C. Birkeland (ed.) Life and Death of Coral
Reefs. Chapman and Hall;
|
* Hixon, M.A., and M.H. Carr. 1997. Synergistic predation, density dependence, and population regulation in marine fish. Science 277:946-949. [reviewed in "This Week in Science" column of Science (1997) 277:879] |
|
Hixon, M.A. 1998. Plenary
address--Population dynamics of coral reef fishes: let’s get pluralistic! Pages 11-18 in G.P. Jones, P.J. Doherty, B.D. Mapstone,
and L. Howlett (eds.) ReeFish
’95: Recruitment and Population Dynamics of Coral Reef Fishes.
* Hixon, M.A. 1998. Population dynamics of coral-reef fishes: controversial concepts and hypotheses. Australian Journal of Ecology 23:192-201.
* Booth, D.J., and M.A. Hixon. 1999. Food ration and condition affect early survival of the coral reef damselfish, Stegastes partitus. Oecologia 121:364-368.
* Murray, S.N., R.F. Ambrose, J.A. Bohnsack, L.W. Botsford, M.H. Carr, G.E. Davis, P.K. Dayton, D. Gotshall, D.R. Gunderson, M.A. Hixon, J. Lubchenco, M. Mangel, A. MacCall, D.A. McArdle, J.C. Ogden, J. Roughgarden, R.M. Starr, M.J. Tegner, and M.M. Yoklavich. 1999. No-take reserve networks: protection for fishery populations and marine ecosystems. Fisheries 24(11):11-25.
* Parker, S.J., S.A. Berkeley, J.T. Golden, D.R. Gunderson, J. Heifetz, M.A. Hixon, R. Larson, B.M. Leaman, M.S. Love, J.A. Musick, V.M. O’Connell, S. Ralston, H.J. Weeks, and M.M. Yoklavich. 2000. Management of Pacific rockfish. Fisheries 25(3):22-30.
* Webster, M.S., and M.A. Hixon. 2000. Mechanisms and individual consequences of intraspecific competition in a coral reef fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series 196:187-194.
* Hixon, M.A. 2001. Coral-reef fishes. Pages 538-542 in J.H. Steele, K.K. Turekian,
and
|
* Hixon, M.A., P.D. Boersma,
M.L. Hunter, F. Micheli, E.A. Norse, H.P. Possingham,
and P.V.R. Snelgrove. 2001. Oceans at risk: research priorities in marine
conservation. Pages 125-154 in M.E. Soulé and G.H. Orians (eds.) Conservation Biology: Research Priorities
for the Next Decade. Island Press; |
|
Micheli, F.,
G.A. Polis, P.D. Boersma, M.A. Hixon, E.A. Norse, P.V.R. Snelgrove, and M.E. Soulé. 2001. Human alteration of food webs: research
priorities for conservation and management. Pages 31-57 in
M.E. Soulé and G.H. Orians
(eds.) Conservation Biology: Research Priorities for the Next Decade.
Island Press;
* Anderson, T.W., C.T. Bartels, M.A. Hixon, E. Bartels, M.H. Carr, and J.M. Shenker. 2002. Current flow and catch efficiency in sampling settlement-stage larvae of coral-reef fishes. Fishery Bulletin 100:404-413.
* Carr, M.H., T.W. Anderson, and M.A.
Hixon. 2002. Biodiversity, population regulation, and the
stability of coral-reef fish communities.
Proceedings of the
* Graham, M.H., P.K Dayton, and M.A. Hixon. 2002. Paradigms in ecology: past, present, and future. Ecology 83:1479-1480. [Introduction to Special Feature]
* Hixon, M.A., S. W. Pacala, and
|
* Hixon, M.A.,
and M.S. Webster
2002. Density dependence
in reef fishes: coral-reef populations as model systems. Pages
303-325 in P.F. Sale (ed.) Coral Reef Fishes: Dynamics and
Diversity in a Complex Ecosystem.
Academic Press; |
|
* Nasby-Lucas, N.M., B.W. Embley, M.A.
Hixon, S.G. Merle, B.N.
* Harding, J.A., G.R. Almany, L.D. Houck,
and M.A. Hixon. 2003. Experimental analysis of monogamy in the
* Hixon, M.A. 2003.
How do so many species of coral-reef fishes coexist? Pages 216-217 in G.C. Ray
and J. McCormick-Ray. Coastal-Marine
Conservation: Science and Policy.
Blackwell Science Limited;
*
* Doherty, P.J., V. Dufour, R. Galzin, M.A. Hixon, M.G. Meekan, and S. Planes. 2004. High mortality during settlement is a population bottleneck for a tropical surgeonfish. Ecology 85:2422–2428.
* Harley, C.D.G., M.A. Hixon, and
* Hixon, M.A., and G.P. Jones. 2005. Competition, predation, and density-dependent mortality in demersal marine fishes. Ecology 86:2847-2859. [Concepts and Synthesis lead article]
|
* Hixon,
M.A. 2006. Competition. Pages 449-465 in L.G. Allen, D.J. Pondella, and M.H. Horn (eds.) The Ecology of Marine Fishes: |
|
* Francis, R.C., M.A. Hixon, M.E. Clarke, S.A. Murawski, and S. Ralston. 2007. Ten commandments for ecosystem-based fisheries scientists. Fisheries 32:219-233.
* Hixon, M.A., and B.N. Tissot. 2007.
Comparison of trawled vs untrawled mud
seafloor assemblages of fishes and macroinvertebrates at Coquille Bank,
*
Hixon, M.A. 2008. Carrying capacity. Pages 528-530 in S.E. Jřrgensen and B.D. Fath (eds.) Encyclopedia
of Ecology, vol. 1. Elsevier Press;
*
Albins, M.A., and M.A. Hixon. 2008. Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans)
reduce recruitment of Atlantic coral-reef fishes. Marine Ecology Progress Series in
press. [reviewed
in "News in Brief" column of Nature
(2008) 454:265]
Albins, M.A., and M.A. Hixon.
2008. Threatened fishes of the
world: Epinephilus striatus (Bloch, 1792) (Serranidae). Environmental
Biology of Fishes in press.
Hixon, M.A.
In press. Reef fishes, seaweeds, and corals: a complex
triangle. In C.
Birkeland (ed.) Life and Death of Coral Reefs. Second edition. Chapman and Hall;
Dissertation Publications by Recent Graduate
Students:
|
Dr. Glenn Almany (NSF Predoctoral
Fellow) Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow, |
|
Almany, G. R. 2003. Priority effects in coral reef fish communities. Ecology 84:1920-1935.
Almany, G. R. 2004. Differential effects of habitat complexity, predators and competitors on abundance of juvenile and adult coral reef fishes. Oecologia 141:105-113.
Almany, G. R. 2004. Does increased habitat complexity reduce predation and competition in coral reef fish assemblages? Oikos 106:275-284.
Almany, G. R. 2004.
Priority effects in coral reef fish communities of the
Almany, G. R., and M. S. Webster. 2004. Odd species out as predators reduce diversity of coral-reef fishes. Ecology 85:2933-2937.
Almany, G. R. and M. S. Webster. 2006. The predation gauntlet: early post-settlement mortality in coral reef fishes. Coral Reefs 25: 19-22.
|
Dr. Karen Overholtzer-McLeod Current position: Director of Science, Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea |
|
Overholtzer-McLeod, K. L. 2004. Variance in reef spatial structure masks density dependence of coral-reef fish populations on natural versus artificial reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series 276: 269-280.
Overholtzer-McLeod, K. L. 2005. Post-settlement emigration affects mortality estimates for two Bahamian wrasses. Coral Reefs 24: 283–291.
Overholtzer-McLeod, K. L. 2006. Consequences of patch reef spacing for density-dependent mortality of coral reef fishes. Ecology 87: 1017-1026.
|
Dr. Michael Webster (NSF Predoctoral
Fellow) Current position: Program Officer, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation |
|
Webster, M. S. 2002. Role of predators in the early post-settlement demography of coral-reef fishes. Oecologia 131:52-60.
Webster, M. S., and G. R. Almany. 2002. Positive indirect effects in a coral reef fish community. Ecology Letters 5:549-557.
Webster, M. S. 2003. Temporal density dependence and population regulation in a marine fish. Ecology 84:623-628.
Webster, M. S. 2004. Density dependence via intercohort competition in a coral-reef fish. Ecology 85: 986-994.
|
Dr. Christopher Stallings Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow, |
|
Stallings, C. D. 2008. Indirect effects of an exploited predator on
recruitment of coral-reef fishes. Ecology
89:2090–2095.
Current Graduate Students
(No,
you don't have to be a Mark to join our lab.)
|
Mark
Albins (NSF
Predoctoral Fellow) |
Mark
Christie |
Darren
Johnson (NSERC
Predoctoral Fellow) |
Tim
Pusack |
[last
updated Sepember 2008]
Return to: