"Growing Caribbean Corals, Conch, and Lobsters for Food, Restocking and Aquaria" • Dr. Megan Davis-Hodgkins About the Lecture Come and take an adventure to the Caribbean with Dr. Megan Davis, Aquaculture Division Director and Kevin Gaines, Vice President of Oceans, Reefs, and Aquariums. The journey will take you through the life history of three economically and ecologically important Caribbean species, the queen conch, spiny lobster, and sea fan coral. These remarkable animals drift in the ocean as larvae and return after weeks and months at sea to the coastal waters and reefs to settle in their new homes. Overfishing and habitat degradation has depleted natural populations of these species in areas of Florida and the Caribbean. You will learn about novel techniques developed by Harbor Branch scientists for farming corals, lobsters, and conch for food, restocking, and aquaria. Megan and Kevin will give you a first-hand visual tour through the conch production and research facilities and the coral culture greenhouses. The culture techniques being developed by Harbor Branch scientists will ensure that these and other important Florida and Caribbean species and habitats will be preserved for future generations. About the Speaker Dr. Megan Davis is Division Director of Aquaculture. She has actively worked in the field of aquaculture for the past 20 years. Dr. Davis was the co-founder of a conch farm in the Turks and Caicos Islands, where she developed commercial applications for culturing queen conch, Strombus gigas, from the egg stage to juvenile stage. Her conch research at Harbor Branch includes captive breeding, larval rearing, and juvenile growout. As Division Director of Aquaculture she supervises education and training programs for national and international students and research development programs for conch, lobsters, flounder, and sustainable systems. Dr. Davis received her Ph.D. from the Department of Biology at Florida Institute of Technology in 1998.

© 2005, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution