Susan S. Bell

A major focus of my research has been seagrass ecosystems with special emphasis on plant-animal interactions. I am interested in exploring ecological relationships among fish, invertebrates and plant structure. Likewise, I am interested in how animal activity influences spatial distributional patterns of seagrasses. Much of my research focuses on field studies and the seagrass beds in Tampa Bay, located in close proximity to USF, provide excellent experimental systems as well as suitable contrast to other systems within which I have worked (e.g. North Carolina, New Zealand).
My present research interests include examining landscape ecology of seagrass beds and investigating the links between seagrass change and faunal responses to such changes. An additional topic of investigation in which I have been actively involved is restoration of seagrass habitats with a special emphasis on evaluation of functional equivalency of created seagrass beds. Some of my work has addressed short-term questions about faunal invasion and productivity but I am also engaged in longer term studies of fish feeding and invertebrate assemblages in constructed seagrass beds.