 |
Lee Smee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
|
Education
- Ph.D., Ecology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
- MS, Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro
- BS, Biology Piedmont College Demorest, GA
Research Interests
My research activities are focused on empirically testing ecological theory. I am particularly interested in how biodiversity affects the structure and function of communities and how environmental forces, particularly hydrodynamics, affect predator-prey interactions. I work in two model systems: New England rocky intertidal and Gulf of Mexico oyster reefs. However, students in my lab may elect to work in any area of ecology provided their research questions are interesting and their experiments feasible. My students have successfully completed MS degrees studying seagrass growth and blue crab toxicology. In general, research in my lab will have a strong empirical component and will normally involve field experiments.
Selected Publications
Ferner, M.C., D.L. Smee, and M.J. Weissburg. 2009. Sediment roughness alters olfactory
interactions between benthic predators and prey. Marine Ecology Progress Series 174:
13-22.
Smee, D.L. and M.J. Weissburg. 2008. Prey behavior in risky habitats: predation pressure
increases prey sensitivity to predation risk. Marine Ecology Progress Series 363: 39-50.
Smee, D.L., M.C. Ferner, and M.J. Weissburg. 2008. Alteration in sensory abilities
regulates the spatial scale of nonlethal predator effects. Oecologia 156: 399-409.
Smee, D.L., and M.J. Weissburg. 2006. Clamming up: Environmental forces diminish
the perceptive ability of bivalve prey. Ecology 87: 1587-1598.
Smee, D.L., and M.J. Weissburg. 2006. Hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) evaluate
predation risk using chemical cues from predators and injured conspecifics. Journal of Chemical Ecology 32: 605-619.
Ferner, M.C., D.L. Smee, and Y. Chang. 2005. Cannibalistic crabs respond to the
scent of injured conspecifics: Danger or Dinner? Marine Ecology Progress Series 300: 193-200.
Weissburg, M.J., C.P. James, D.L. Smee, and D.R. Webster. 2003. Fluid mechanics
produces conflicting constraints during olfactory navigation of blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus. Journal of Experimental Biology 26: 171-180.
Weissburg, M.J., M.C. Ferner, D.P. Pisut, and D.L. Smee. 2002. Ecological
consequences of chemically mediated prey perception. Journal of Chemical Ecology 28: 1953-1970.
Page last modified February 2009
