Alfredo F. Ojanguren
The University of Texas at Austin
Marine Science Institute
750 Channel View Dr.
Port Aransas, TX  78373
Phone:  (361) 749-6789
E-mail:  afo132@mail.utexas.edu

EDUCATION

2000 - Ph.D. Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain.

1995 - M.Sc. in Ecology of Aquatic Systems, Departmento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain.

1993 - B.Sc. in Biological Sciences, Zoology Universidad de Oviedo, Spain.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2005 - present     Research Associate, Marine Science Institute, University of Texas at Austin.

2004 - 2005         Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Fisheries Research Services, Scotland, U.K. and Cardiff University, Wales, U.K.

2002 - 2004         Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, University of St Andrews, Scotland, U.K.

1996 - 1999         Research Fellow, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain.

1995 - 1996         Research Assistant, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My research interests focus on the causes and ecological consequences of individual variability in animal performance. In particular, I am interested in complex functions such as ontogenetic development, growth or locomotion, which integrate a number of genetic and physiological factors, and have a direct influence on survival and eventual reproductive success. In this context, I find especially appealing the study of behavior as the way animals interact with the physical environment and with other organisms. Specifically, my interests focus on the behavioral mechanisms involved in (1) avoiding predators (escape responses, shoaling behavior) and (2) increasing reproductive output (mate choice, reproductive investment). At present I am involved in a project funded by the National Science Foundation to study predation mortality and behavior of fish larvae. The project examines the relationships between larval fish behavior, growth, and mortality, as related to population success. It concentrates on variability in behavior of larval cohorts during the spawning season due to variation in parental contributions. It also seeks to identify critical survival skills from among a set of suspected survival skills and how critical survival skills change with habitat. Specific objectives are to: (1) determine how survival skills and growth rates of cohorts produced by individual adults vary during the season and among adults, (2) identify critical survival skills, (3) compare critical survival skills for presettlement and postsettlement larvae, and (4) confirm the importance of critical survival skills in reducing predation mortality. Before I joined the Marine Science Institute, I participated in a number of research projects and worked in partnership with scientists from several countries all across Europe. As a matter of fact, I keep active links with all the research groups with which I collaborated: Florentino Braña,  Alfredo Nicieza, Anne Magurran, and Siân Griffiths.

High speed video analysis is used to measure survival skills of red drum larvae on the basis of visual and acoustic escape responses.

An important part of my research activity has been devoted to the study of early life history of fish. Since fish typically produce large numbers of small offspring, early ontogenetic phases represent critical periods in which high mortalities occur and small differences in performance can affect survival and thus have direct consequences for the dynamics of the populations. My Ph.D. thesis involved studying the effects of environmental factors on juvenile stages of brown trout (Salmo trutta). Funding was provided by a large European Commission grant that integrated the work of five research groups from the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Holland and Spain. The main objective of the project was to determine thermal parameters for variables such as growth and embryonic development and to explore variation along latitudinal gradients.	Brown trout embryos, a few days after hatching. Photo by F. Braña.
Netting guppies in the Arima River in Trinidad. Photo by K. Magellan	After obtaining my PhD, I was awarded a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship from the European Commission to join Prof. Magurran’s research group at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. My project was aimed at determining the fitness consequences of multiple mating for female guppies (Poecilia reticulata). This general objective was approached (1) by performing experiments under controlled laboratory conditions and (2) by extensive sampling of natural
populations of guppies in Trinidad to estimate levels of multiple mating in the wild by using microsatellite-based paternity analyses.	Male Trinidadian guppy. Photo by S. Earnshaw.

During 2004, I worked as Postdoctoral Assistant in a large-scale study to assess the behavioral and ecological consequences of shoaling decisions in European minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus). The project, funded by the NERC, involved the work of scientists from three British institutions: Dr. S. Griffiths (Coordinator, Cardiff University, Wales), Prof. A. Magurran (University of St Andrews, Scotland) and Dr. J. Armstrong (Fisheries Research Services, Scotland). The work plan included the use of an 80-m artificial stream equipped with an electronic detection system to monitor the movements of fish tagged with PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags.

Partial view of the indoor stream channel at the Fisheries Research Services field station at Almondbank, Scotland. Photo by A. Benito.

CURRENT PROJECT

Predation Mortality and Behavior of Fish Larvae: Seasonal Variation and Critical Survival Skills

Summary. This project will examine the relationships between larval fish behavior, growth, and mortality, as related to population success. It concentrates on variability in behavior of larval cohorts during the spawning season due to variation in parental contributions and the possible trade-off between growth rate and behavior at the cohort level. It also seeks to identify critical survival skills from among a set of suspected survival skills and how critical survival skills change with habitat. Specific objectives are to: (1) determine how survival skills and growth rates of cohorts produced by individual adults vary during the season and among adults, (2) identify critical survival skills, (3) compare critical survival skills for presettlement and postsettlement larvae, and (4) confirm the importance of critical survival skills in reducing predation mortality. These objectives will be met through laboratory experiments on reared and wild-caught larvae that will measure 11 suspected survival skills. Characteristics-of-survivors analyses on wild-caught larvae will reveal the critical survival skills in each habitat, which will be confirmed by field-based experiments.

Intellectual Merits of the Proposed Study. Variation in recruitment levels is one of the most important, yet poorly understood problems in population dynamics of marine organisms, including many economically important fishes. The proposed work will examine: (1) a source of variation in recruitment that has received little or no formal investigation and (2) the linkages between larval fish behavior and recruitment and the changes in these linkages in different habitats. The research will contribute to the ongoing effort to understand and predict variations in animal abundance and the mechanisms of mortality, by providing a better understanding of the link between behavior and mortality, including the mechanisms of individual survival as well as variability in mortality among cohorts. All of this is essential for management plans for commercially harvested species and those in need of protection from human impacts.

Broader Impacts of the Proposed Study. The results will have application beyond natural populations. Fishery management plans for exploited fish populations often include enhancement of natural populations through stocking of hatchery-produced fish. The proposed work could allow hatchery managers to allocate effort and funds more efficiently so as to maximize the effectiveness of stocking protocols. The proposed work would also provide direction to future research efforts to improve the efficacy of stocking as a management tool. The project represents a new professional linkage between Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), a resource management agency, and the research and education missions of the university.

PUBLICATIONS

Rodriguez-Munoz, R., Ojanguren, A.F. and Tregenza, T. 2008. Comment on international conservation policy delivers benefits for birds in Europe. Science 319, 5866.  (abstract)

Griffiths, S.W., Ojanguren, A.F., Orpwood, J.E., Magurran, A.E. and Armstrong, J.D. 2007. Familiarity-biased patterns of association shift with time among European minnows. Journal of Fish Biology 71, 1602-1612.  (abstract)

Ojanguren, A.F. and Magurran, A.E. 2007. Male harassment reduces short-term female fitness in guppies. Behaviour 114, 503-514.  (abstract)

Ojanguren, A.F., J.P. Evans, and A.E. Magurran. 2005. Multiple mating influences offspring size in guppies. Journal of Fish Biology. 67, 1184-1188.  (abstract)

Ojanguren, A.F. and Magurran, A.E. 2004. Uncoupling the links between male mating tactics and female attractiveness. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B. 271, S427-S429.  (abstract)

Ojanguren, A.F. and Braña, F. 2003. Effects of size and morphology on swimming performance in juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta L.). Ecology of Freshwater Fish 12, 241-246.  (abstract)

Ojanguren, A.F. and Braña, F. 2003 Thermal dependence of embryonic growth and development in brown trout. Journal of Fish Biology 62, 580-590.  (abstract)

Rodríguez-Muñoz, R and Ojanguren, A.F. 2002. Effect of short-term preservation of sea lamprey gametes on fertilization rate and embryo survival. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 17, 127-128.  (abstract)

Ojanguren, A.F., Reyes-Gavilán, F.G. and Braña, F. 2001. Thermal sensitivity of growth, food intake and activity of juvenile brown trout. Journal of Thermal Biology 26, 165-170.  (abstract)

Ojanguren, A.F. and Braña, F. 2000. Thermal dependence of swimming endurance in juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta L.). Journal of Fish Biology 56, 1342-1347.  (abstract)

Ojanguren, A.F. and Braña, F. 1999. Discrimination against water containing unrelated conspecifics and a marginal effect of relatedness on spacing behaviour and growth in juvenile brown trout Salmo trutta L. Ethology 105, 937-948.  (abstract)

Ojanguren, A.F., Reyes-Gavilán, F.G and Rodríguez-Muñoz, R. 1999. Effects of temperature on growth and efficiency of yolk utilisation in eggs and pre-feeding larval stages of Atlantic salmon. Aquaculture International 7, 81-87.  (abstract)

Reyes-Gavilán, F.G., Ojanguren, A.F. and Braña, F. 1997. The ontogenetic development of body segments and sexual dimorphism in brown trout (Salmo trutta L.). Canadian Journal of Zoology 75, 651-655. 

Ojanguren, A.F., Reyes-Gavilán, F.G. and Braña, F. 1996. Effects of egg size on offspring development and fitness in brown trout, Salmo trutta L. Aquaculture 147, 9-20.  (abstract)

 * Note: PDF versions of the papers will be sent upon request.