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Renae Brodie is an ecological physiologist who investigates the reproductive and larval biology of crabs. Brodie's research interests include Behavior, Development, and Ecophysiology of Terrestrial Crabs. Currently, she is studying fiddler crabs along the Atlantic coast, where she has established field sites from Massachusetts to Georgia to test hypotheses about how temperature and other factors― like population density, food supply and pollution―impact survival and reproduction. She is also interested in a species of fiddler crab that inhabits low salinity and freshwater tidal streams during its adult phase but undergoes larval development in the sea. She and her students are solving the mystery of how this species survives radical changes in salinity regimes during its lifecycle and uses environmental cues to determine the suitability of potential settlement habitats. Ultimately, insights from these projects will allow Renae, her students, and collaborators to predict how the health and geographic ranges of fiddler crab populations will shift as the planet’s climate continues to change.

Postdoctoral Training: Smithsonian (Marine Station/Tropical Research Institute), 2000-2002

Courses

• Biology 150: Introductory Biology  (fall)
• Biology 315: Behavioral Ecology (spring)
• Biology 321: Race and Biology
• Biology 326: Ocean Blues