Shirley Baker

Bivalve Mollusk Ecology and Physiology

UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation
Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program
7922 NW 71st Street, PO Box 110600
Gainesville, FL 32653-0600
(352) 273-3627
(352) 392-3672 fax
sbaker25@ufl.edu

Responsibilities

Conducts research focused on the physiological ecology of bivalve mollusks. Areas of specialization include functional morphology, feeding ecology, bioenergetics, and effects of perturbations such as salinity, temperature, and eutrophication on productivity. Trained as a marine scientist, she has worked in a variety of systems, both marine and freshwater. Dr. Baker is currently working with research and extension faculty on several hard clam aquaculture projects in Florida. The industry faces several challenges: reliance on primarily one species, anthropogenic disturbances, harmful algal blooms, and extreme temperatures. Using methods from a range of fields (genetics, pathology, comparative physiology, environmental monitoring), her collaborative research is working to address these issues.

Specialties

• Invertebrates: physiology and ecology
• Marine and freshwater mollusks: functional morphology, feeding ecology, bioenergetics
• Bivalve aquaculture: biotic and abiotic impacts, sustainable development

Education

• PhD, Marine Science, The College of William and Mary
• MS, Marine Biology, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, University of Oregon
• BS, Biology, Seattle Pacific University