Assistant Professor, Marine Science Program and Biological Sciences

Ph.D. University of New Hampshire. 2007.

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EWS 615

803-777-2932

bgriffen@biol.sc.edu

Research

My research centers on two areas: extinction theories and invasive species. On the northeast coast of the US, two species of crab from Asia and Europe have destroyed the softshell clam industry and are altering the ecology of the beaches that they have invaded. I study the impacts of these two species on the invaded areas and the factors that control the size and distribution of populations of these two crabs. I also use benchtop populations of zooplankton (small aquatic animals that can easily be kept as entire populations in the lab) to study extinction theories, which are traditionally difficult to test (it isn't very ethical to cause the extinction of a natural population just so that we can study it on its way out.) My goal is to improve our understanding of the extinction process so that we can more effectively prevent it.

Recent Publications:

* denotes student or postdocs

Delaney, D.G, Griffen, B.D., Leung, B. (2011) Injury as a moderator of impacts of invasive species. Biological Invasions doi:10.1007/s10530-011-9975-0

Drake, J.M., *Shapiro, J., Griffen, B.D. (2011) Experimental demonstration of a two-phase population extinction hazard. Proceedings of the Royal Society Interface. 8:1472-1479

Griffen, B.D., Mosblack, H. (2011) Predicting diet and consumption rate differences between and within species using gut ecomorphology. Journal of Animal Ecology. 80:854-863

Griffen, B.D, Altman, I., Hurley, J., Mosblack, H. (2011) Reduced fecundity by one invader in the presence of another: a potential mechanism leading to species replacement.  Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 406:6-13

Repetto, M., Griffen, B.D. (2011) Physiological consequences of parasite infection in the burrowing mud shrimp Upogebia pugettensis, a widespread ecosystem engineer.  Marine and Freshwater Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MF11158

Griffen, B.D., Spooner, D., Spivak, A., Kramer, A., Santoro, A., Kelly, N. (2010) Moving species redundancy towards a more predictive framework. Limnology and Oceanography Methods, Eco-DAS VIII 3:30-46

Drake, J.M., Griffen, B.D. (2010) Early warning signals of extinction in deteriorating environments. Nature 467:456-459

Courses Taught:

MSCI 311: Biology of Marine Organisms

MSCI 510/BIOL 510: Invertebrate Zoology

MSCI 538/BIOL 538: Behavior of Marine Organisms