Steven L. Miller

Address

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

515 Caribbean Drive Key Largo, Florida 33037

Tel: 305-451-9030  Email: millers@uncw.edu or smiller@gate.net

Degrees

1988  University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Ph.D. Botany

1976  Brown University

B.A. Biology

Professional Experience

1991 -           

University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Adjunct Assistant Professor (1991-2002), Research Professor (2002 - present)

1991 -  2004

National Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  Center Director (1998 - 2004), Associate Director (1996 - 1998), Science Director (1991 - 1996)

1989 - 1990    

National Undersea Research Center, Fairleigh Dickinson University, West Indies Laboratory, St. Croix, USVI.  Science Director (and Adjunct Assistant Professor)

1983 - 1988    

University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Ph.D. Program. Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant/Associate.

Publications (Recent)

Chiappone M, Rutten LM, Swanson DW, Miller SL. 2009. Population status of the urchin Diadema antillarum in the Florida Keys 25 years after the Caribbean mass mortality. Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft. Lauderdale: 706-710

Keller BD, Gleason DF, McLeod E, Woodley CM, Airame S, Causey BD, Friedlander AM, Grober-Dunsmore R, Johnson JE, Miller SL, Steneck RS. 2009. Climate change, coral reef ecosystems, and management options for marine protected areas. Environmental Management 44: 1069-1088

Miller SL, Chiappone M, Rutten LM, Swanson DW. 2009. Population status of Acropora corals in the Florida Keys. Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft. Lauderdale: 775-779

Rutten LM, Chiappone M, Swanson DW, Miller SL. 2009. Stony coral species diversity and cover in the Florida Keys using design-based sampling. Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft. Lauderdale: 800-804

Precht, W.F. and S.L. Miller. 2007. Ecological Shifts along the Florida Reef Tract: The Past is a Key to the Future. In: Geological Approaches to Coral Reef Ecology. R. B. Aronson (Editor). Chapter 9: 237-312. Springer, NY. 

Precht, W.F., R.B. Aronson, S.L. Miller, B.D. Keller and B. Causey. In Press. The folly of coral reef restoration programs following natural disturbances in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Restoration Ecology.

Smith, J.E., C.M. Smith, P.S. Vroom, K.L. Beach, and S.L. Miller. In Press. Nutrient and growth dynamics of Halimeda tuna along a depth gradient in the Florida Keys: possible influence of internal tides on nutrient status and physiology? Limnology and Oceanography.

Chiappone, M., H. Dienes, D.W. Swanson, and S.L. Miller. 2005. Impacts of lost fishing gear on coral reef sessile invertebrates in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Biological Conservation 121:221-230.

Chiappone, M., H. Dienes, D.W. Swanson, and S.L. Miller. 2004. Spatial distribution of lost fishing gear on fished and protected reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Caribbean Journal of Science 40(3) 312-326.

Chiappone M, H. Dienes, D.W. Swanson, and S.L. Miller. 2003. Density and gorgonian host-occupation patterns by flamingo tongue snails (Cyphoma gibbosum) in the Florida Keys. Caribbean Journal of Science 39(1):116-127.

Franklin, E.C., J.S. Ault, S.G. Smith, J. Luo, G.A. Meester, G.A. Diaz, M. Chiappone, D.W. Swanson, S.L. Miller, and J.A. Bohnsack. 2003. Benthic Habitat Mapping in the Tortugas Region, Florida. Special Issue on Marine and Coastal GIS. Marine Geodesy Vol (1-2):19-34.

Leichter, J.J., H.L. Stewart and S.L. Miller. 2003. Episodic nutrient transport to Florida coral reefs. Limnol and Oceanogr. 48(4):1394-1407.

Ault, J. S., S.G. Smith, G.A. Meester, J. Luo, J.A. Bohnsack, and S.L. Miller. 2002. Baseline Multispecies Coral Reef Fish Stock Assessment for Dry Tortugas. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-487. 117 pp.

Ault, J.S., S.G. Smith, G.A. Meester, J. Luo, E.C. Franklin, J.A. Bohnsack, D.E. Harper, D.B. McClellan, S.L. Miller, D.W. Swanson, and M. Chiappone. 2002. Tortugas surveyed: Synoptic habitat and reef fish surveys support establishment of marine reserves in the Dry Tortugas, Florida, USA. Reef Encounter 31: 22-23.

Chiappone M, D.W. Swanson, and S.L. Miller. 2002. Density, spatial distribution and size structure of sea urchins in coral reef and hard-bottom habitats of the Florida Keys. Marine Ecology Progress Series 235: 117-126.

Chiappone M., D.W. Swanson, S.L. Miller, and S.G. Smith. 2002. Large-scale surveys on the Florida Reef Tract indicate poor recovery of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum. Coral Reefs 21:155-159.

Chiappone M., A. White, D.W. Swanson, and S.L. Miller. 2002. Occurrence and biological impacts of fishing gear and other marine debris in the Florida Keys. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol. 44:597-604.

Miller S.L., D.W. Swanson, and M. Chiappone. 2002. Multiple spatial scale assessment of coral reef and hard-bottom community structure in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Proceedings of the Ninth International Coral Reef Symposium. Volume 1:69-74.

Chiappone M, S.L. Miller, D.W. Swanson, J.S. Ault, and S.G. Smith SG. 2001. Comparatively high densities of the long-spined sea urchin in the Dry Tortugas, Florida. Coral Reefs 20: 137-138.

Chiappone M, S.L. Miller, and D.W. Swanson. 2001. Condylactis gigantea – A giant comes under pressure from the aquarium trade in Florida. Reef Encounter 30: 29-31 .

Miller S.L., D.W. Swanson, M. Chiappone, J.S. Ault, S.G. Smith, G.A. Meester, J. Luo, E.C. Franklin, J.A. Bohnsack, D.E. Harper, and D.B. McClellan. 2001. An extensive deep reef terrace on the Tortugas Bank, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Coral Reefs 20:299-300.

Leichter, J.J. and S.L. Miller. 1999. Predicting high frequency upwelling: Spatial and temporal patterns of temperature anomalies on a Florida coral reef. Continental Shelf Research 19:911-928.

Miller, M.W, M.E. Hay, S.L. Miller, D. Malone, E.E. Sotka, and A.M. Szmant. 1999. A new method for manipulating nutrients on coral reefs: Effects of nutrients vs. herbivores on reef algae. Limnology and Oceanography 44(8): 1847-1861. (Featured article in December, 1999, on L&O web site).

Hughes, T., A.M Szmant, R. Steneck, R.C. Carpenter, and S.L. Miller. 1999. Algal blooms on coral reefs: What are the causes? Limnol. and Oceanogr. 4(6):1583-1586.

Miller, S.L. and M.P. Crosby. 1998. The extent and condition of U.S. coral reefs. In: NOAA’s State of the Coast Report (peer reviewed). NOAA. Silver Spring, MD. pp 1-34. http://state_of_the_coast.noaa.gov/bulletins/html/crf_08/crf.html

Richardson, L.L., W.M. Goldburg, K.G. Kuda, R.B. Aronson, G.W. Smith, K.B. Richie, J.C. Halas, J.S. Feingold, and S.L. Miller. 1998. Florida’s mystery coral-killer identified. Nature. Vol. 392(6676):557-558.

Leichter, J.J., S.R. Wing, S.L. Miller, and M.W. Denny. 1996. Pulsed delivery of subthermocline water to Conch Reef, Florida Keys, by internal tidal bores. Limnol. Oceanogr. Vol. 41(7):1490-1501.

Miller, S.L. 1996. How an underwater habitat benefits marine science. Scientific American. October:92-93.

Miller, S.L. 1996. Carolina, the Keys, and coral reef research. Geotimes Vol. 41(4):24-27.

Miller, S.L. and A.W. Hulbert. 1994. Recommendations for long-term coral reef monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: Panel report. National Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Paul J.H., J.B Rose, J.Brown. E Shinn, S. Miller, and S. Farrah. 1995. Viral tracer studies indicate contamination of marine waters by sewage disposal practices in Key Largo, Florida. Applied and Env. Microbiology, Vol. 61, No. 6: 2230-2234.

Miller, S.L., G.B. McFall and A.W. Hulbert. 1993. Guidelines and recommendations for coral reef restoration in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: Report. National Undersea Research Center at UNCW. 38 pp.

Publications (in Review)

Chiappone, M., H. Dienes, S.L. Miller, and D.W. Swanson. In Review. Shallow fore reef density and habitat utilization patterns of the lettuce sea slug Tridachia (Elysia) crispata in the Florida Keys. Bulletin of Marine Science.

Chiappone M., D.W. Swanson, and S.L. Miller.  Density and habitat utilization patterns of anemones and corallimorpharians (Anthozoa, Zoantharia) in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Coral Reefs.

Chiappone M., D.W. Swanson, and S.L. Miller.  Large-scale density patterns of anemones and corallimorpharians on offshore coral reef habitats in the Florida Keys. Bulletin of Marine Science.

Lindholm, J., L. Kaufman, and S. Miller. Site utilization and movement of black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) and yellowtail snapper (Ocyrus chrysurus) in the Florida Keys.  Bulletin of Marine Science. 

Manuscripts (In Progress)

Lindholm, J., A Wagschal, L. Kaufman, and S.L. Miller. Patterns of movement in blue parrotfish (Scarus coeruleus) and princess parrotfish (Scarus taeniopterus) at Conch Reef (northern Florida Keys).

Swanson DW, S.L. Miller, and M. Chiappone. Spatial patterns of benthic coral reef organisms in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. 1. Stony coral cover, species richness and species density. Coral Reefs.

Chiappone M., L.M. Rutten, D.W. Swanson, and S.L. Miller. Spatial patterns of benthic coral reef organisms in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. 2. Gorgonian species density, richness, and colony density. Coral Reefs.

Chiappone M., L.M. Rutten, D.W. Swanson, and S.L. Miller. Spatial patterns of benthic coral reef organisms in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. 3. Sponge cover and species richness. Coral Reefs.

Chiappone M., D.W. Swanson, E.C. Franklin, and S.L. Miller. A hierarchical structural classification of Florida Keys coral reef and hard-bottom habitats. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.

Chiappone M, Swanson DW, and S.L. Miller. A rapid method for assessing topographic complexity and its application to Florida Keys coral reef and hard-bottom habitats. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.

Miller S.L., M. Chiappone, D.W. Swanson, J.S. Ault, S.G. Smith, and E.C. Franklin. Design-based surveys of coral reef and hard-bottom habitats in Dry Tortugas National Park and the Tortugas Bank, Florida. Ecological Applications.

Miller S.L., S. Gittings, M. Chiappone, B. Causey, D.W. Swanson, and A. White. Changes (1994-2000) to benthic cover on a deep coral reef in the Florida Keys. Coral Reefs.

Smith SG, D.W. Swanson, S.L. Miller, J.S. Ault, and M. Chiappone. Sampling survey design for coral reef assessment and monitoring in the Florida Keys. Coral Reefs.

Swanson DW, M. Chiappone, and S.L. Miller. Coral disease prevalence in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Honors

2002

Fellow of the Explorers Club

2002

Board of Directors, The Ocean Conservancy (Chair of Policy Committee)

2000

National Conservation Award, accepted on behalf of Aquarius and NURC/UNCW, from the Wildlife Conservation Society

1997

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

1995 - 2000

Recording Secretary, International Society for Reef Studies

Grant Support (Current and Recent)

2001-2004

Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation. Marine science communication and education programs using unique assets of NOAA's National Undersea Research Program ($25,000).

2000-2004

NOAA, National Undersea Research Program: Annual Omnibus Proposal to NURC/UNCW. $2,611,000 (2000), $2,630,000 (2001), $2,700,000 (2002), $2,650,000 (2003), $2,600,000 (2004). Principal Investigator on annual grant to UNCW.

1999-2002

NOAA, National Marine Sanctuary Program: Coral reef monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. $20,000 (1998), $40,000 (1999), $80,000 (2000), $150,000 (2001-2002).

1999-2000

Deep coral reef monitoring at Conch Reef, FKNMS. NOAA, National Marine Sanctuary Program. $7,900.

Recent Professional Activities

2003-2004

Founding member of Shifting Baselines media campaign.

2003-2004

Lead, Writing Group for NOAA’s Coral Reef Research Plan.

1999-2002

Chair, Working Group on Caulerpa taxifolia: A potential threat to U.S. Coastal Waters. For: The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.

1992-2004

Appointed NOAA representative to the Technical Advisory Committee to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Reviewer

Bulletin of Marine Science, Coral Reefs, Ecology, International Coral Reef Symposium, Limnology and Oceanography, Marine Ecology Progress Series, NOAA Undersea Research Program, NOAA Coastal Ocean Program, NOAA Seagrant.

Recent Presentations

Invited presentation (The Aquarius program: Science, education and public outreach) for special symposium at the Annual Marine Technology Society meeting, Balt. MD.

Invited presentation (History of working and living underwater in marine habitats: The Aquarius) for the Smithsonian’s Associates Lecture Series, Washington, DC.

Keynote speaker (Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys: The Real Story) at the annual meeting of the Florida Marine Science Educators Association, Palm Beach, Florida.

Invited panelist and presenter (Benthic Assessment Group) to the Tortugas 2000 Forum, evaluating information about marine reserves.

Graduate Students

Florida International University

Katherine Davis, Ammonium uptake rates and diel fluxes of representative Caribbean reef coral and algae (Awarded 1997).

Braxton Davis, Competitive interactions among seagrasses and algae (Awarded 1998).

Leanne Miller Rutten, An assessment of changes in nearshore benthic habitats of the Florida Keys (Awarded 2002).

NOVA Southeastern University

Mark Chiappone, Effects of fishing on marine reserves (Awarded 2001).

University of North Carolina  at Wilmington

Katherine Laing, Growth of Halimeda nearshore and offshore in the upper Florida Keys (Awarded 1999).

J. Brooke Landry, Decadal scale changes (1995-2004) in the abundance and distribution of macroalgae in Florida Bay (In Progress).

Current Research Programs

Coral Reef Monitoring and Assessment

Oceanographic Monitoring

Acoustic Fish Tracking

Current Media Projects

Shifting Baselines Ocean Media Campaign