Professor of Biology

Google Scholar Profile

Courses Taught:

Current Research

I am interested in fundamental concepts of fish biology and in applying this knowledge to scientific issues and to societal concerns of fisheries management and conservation. My scientific work has focused on field studies of fish behavior and ecology. I have worked in a variety of habitats worldwide where fishes are a significant component of the fauna. In recent years, I have applied my scientific expertise to contemporary problems in conservation biology and environmental protection. From 1983 to 2003, my main study site was Johnston Atoll, Central Pacific Ocean, conducting research as part of the US Army marine ecological monitoring program evaluating operation of the Johnston Atoll Chemical Weapons Disposal System. Since 2003, I have been working primarily in Belize, Central America on fish bioacoustics and discovery of new species.

My research has concentrated on five topics::

  1. Reproductive behavior and timing relative to physical oceanographic variables
  2. Predator-prey relationships with emphasis on herbivores and their role in coral reef ecology, including the phenomenon of ciguatera
  3. Species identification and biogeography including descriptions of new species of fishes from coral reefs and an African freshwater lake
  4. Environmental impact of natural catastrophes and man-made habitat alterations
  5. Fish bioacoustics

My current research focus is on fish bioacoustics. Past research has generally concentrated on the identification of sound-producing fishes. Although many fishes produce distinct sounds while courting or calling mates, the prior lack of technology for data acquisition and signal analysis has stifled research. I developed new methods and equipment for recording fishes in the wild. The goals have been to develop instrumentation, deployment strategy, and analytical procedures for A) locating spawning populations, and B) quantifying the temporal-spatial patterns of fish reproduction. The temporal patterns of fish reproduction at known sites can be recorded using hydrophones and radio-telemetry to shore or with underwater recorders. Spatial coverage is possible using multiple systems. The success and general applicability of a method for passive acoustic detection of fish reproduction ultimately depends on identifying species with specific mating sounds. The interesting biological question is, do different fishes make different sounds and can the fish distinguish these different sounds?

Selected Publications

  • Lindseth AV, Lobel PS (2018) Underwater Soundscape Monitoring and Fish Bioacoustics:   A Review. Fishes 2018, 3, 36.
  • Lobel LK, Lobel PS (2018) Current status of the US military atolls in the Pacific: Johnston and Wake. in, World Seas: An Environmental Evaluation, Charles Sheppard (editor) Pergamon Press of Elsevier Science.
  • Di Santo V, Lobel PS (2016) How to beat the heat: body size affects thermal tolerance in tropical gobies. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 487, 11-17.
  • Di Santo V, Lobel PS (2016) Size affects digestive responses to increasing temperature in fishes: physiological implications of being small in climate change. Marine Ecology 37 (4), 813-820.
  • Pyle RL, Lobel PS, Tomoleoni JA (2016) The Value of Closed-Circuit Rebreathers for Biological Research.   In Pollock NW, Sellers SH,  Godfrey JM, eds. Rebreathers and Scientific Diving. Proceedings of NPS/NOAA/DAN/AAUS June 16-19, 2015 Workshop. Wrigley Marine Science Center, Catalina Island, CA; 2016: 120-134.
  • Oliver S, Lobel PS (2013) Direct mate choice for simultaneous acoustic and visual courtship displays in a the damselfish, Dascyllus albisella (Pomacentridea). Environmental Biology of Fishes 96:447-457.  
  • Mosharo, K, and P S Lobel (2012) Acoustic signals of two toadfishes from Belize: Sanopus astrifer and Batrachoides gilberti (Batrachoididae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 94 (4) 623 – 638.
  • Lobel PS (2011) A review of the hamlets (Serraanidae, Hypoplectrus) with description of two new species. Zootaxa 3096: 1–17.
  • Lobel PS and Lobel LK (2011) Endemic marine fishes of Belize: evidence of isolation in a unique ecological region. In: Palomares, M.L.D., Pauly, D. (eds.), Too Precious to Drill: the Marine Biodiversity of Belize, pp. 48-51. Fisheries Centre Research Reports 19(6). Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia [ISSN 1198-6727].
  • Lobel PS (2011) Transport of reef lizardfish larvae by an ocean eddy in Hawaiian waters. Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans 52 (2011) 119– 130.

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