Angela Collins - USF Ichthyology

collinsa@mail.usf.edu

Current Program: Ph.D. in Biology

M.S. in Biology, University of South Florida, 2005

B.S. in Biology, Florida Atlantic Univeristy, 1998

Research Interests

In general, I am interested in the behavior and ecology of fishes, and how these disciplines can be applied to fisheries and fisheries management. In a collaborative project with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, the goal of my current project is to characterize the abundance and distribution of Goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) within the central eastern Gulf of Mexico. The objectives of this proposed research are:

to determine relative abundances of goliath grouper based on habitat type, depth and season in the study area

to quantify site fidelity for goliath grouper and characterize whether this changes with fish size, depth, season or habitat type

to describe fine scale movement patterns of adult goliath groupers and quantify whether behavior is characterized by habitat, depth, or time of day. Do individual activity patterns show a significant relationship to time of year (i.e, during spawning season?) or to fish size? Do individual movement patterns change with increasing densities of resident goliath grouper? Do sites with large aggregations of goliath grouper consistently result in larger foraging areas than equivalent sites that have only 1 or 2 fish (foraging halo effect)?

Research Experience

2005-Present: Floida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Fisheries biologist.
2003-2005: Mote Marine Laboratory. Center for Shark Research staff biologist.
2002-2003: University of South Florida. Department of Biology graduate teaching assistant.
2000-2002: Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). Research assistant & scientific diver.
1998-2000: The Living Seas, Epcot, Disney World. Aquarist.
1997-1998: South Florida Water Management District. Everglades Botanical Research Center intern.
1996-1998: Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Sea turtle specialist.

Grants and Funding

2007: NOAA/NMFS Cooperative Research Project (CRPNA07NMF4540085)
2004, 2003: PADI Project A.W.A.R.E. Awards
2004, 2003: PADI Foundation Awards
2004, 2003: Mote Marine Laboratory Fellowship
2003: Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program Minigrant
2002: USF Biology Department Travel Fund Award
2002: USF College of Arts and Sciences Travel Fund Award

Selected Publications and Abstracts (click to see Angela's online CV)

Collins, A.B., M.R. Heupel, and C.A. Simpfendorfer. In Press. Spatial distribution and long-term movement patterns of cownose rays Rhinoptera bonasus within an estuarine river. Estuaries and Coasts.

Simpfendorfer, C.A., M.R. Heupel and A.B. Collins. 2008. Variation in the efficiency of acoustic receivers and its implication for positioning algorithms in a riverine setting. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 65: 482-492.

Collins, A.B. and McBride, R.S. 2008. Integrating life history, mating system, fishing effects, and habitat of hogfish, Lachnolaimus maximus, a harem spawning fish in the southeast U.S.

NOAA/NMFS Final Report #NA05NMF4540040. 76 pp.

Collins, A. B., M.R. Heupel and P.J. Motta. 2007. Residence and movement patterns of cownose rays Rhinoptera bonasus within a southwest Florida estuary. Journal of Fish Biology, 71: 1159-1178.

Collins, A. B., M.R. Heupel, R.E. Hueter and P.J. Motta. 2007. Hard prey specialists or opportunistic generalists? An examination of the diet of the cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus. Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 58: 135-144.
Please contact A. Collins for reprints.

Collins, A.B. and McBride, R.S. 2007. The Hogfish CRP: Science with Spearfishers. American Fisheries Society national meeting, San Francisco, California.

Heupel, M.R., C.A. Simpfendorfer, A.B. Collins and J.P. Tyminski. 2006. Residency and movement patterns of bonnethead sharks, Sphyrna tiburo, in a large Florida estuary. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 76: 47-67.

Collins, A.B. 2005. An examination of the diet and movement patterns of the Atlantic cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus within a southwest Florida estuary. Masters thesis, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.

Collins, A. B., M.R. Heupel, R.E. Hueter and P.J. Motta. 2005. Tracking the cownose ray within a southwest Florida estuary: Evidence for residence? American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Annual Meeting, Tampa, Florida.

Barker(Collins), A., M.R. Heupel, P.J. Motta, and R.H. Hueter. 2004. Movement patterns of the cownose ray within Charlotte Harbor, Florida: A preliminary assessment. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Annual Meeting, Norman, Oklahoma.

Other Ongoing Research:

In collaboration with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, I am currently working on manuscripts for a recently completed NOAA/NMFS CRP project entitiled "Integrating life history, mating system, fishing effects, and habitat of hogfish, Lachnolaimus maximus, a harem spawning reef fish in the southeast U.S."