Cynthia Hunter

Research Interests

My research focuses on fundamental questions in coral reef ecology within the larger context of conservation ecology. Broadly, I am interested in contributing to a better understanding of how coral reef ecosystems function and sustain themselves, particularly within the context of natural and anthropogenic stressors. More specifically, I am interested in forces that affect the biodiversity of coral reef species, and how this diversity may be influenced through time, space and under various physical and anthropogenic regimes.

Most recently, research in my lab has explored and determined ways to inform and improve management of coral reef resources:

Characterization of genetic diversity and propagation potential of corals for reef restoration and research.

Development of methods and management strategies to control alien algae and restore coral reefs degraded by algal invasions. A recent aspect of this work involves student-led surveys of the distribution and abundance of two NOAA Species of Concern (Montipora dilatata and Lingula reevii) as part of BIOL 403-Field Problems in Marine Biology.

Representative Publications

Smith, J.E., C.L. Hunter, and C.M. Smith. 2010. The effects of top-down versus bottom-up control on benthic coral reef community structure. Oecologia 163(2):497-507.

Forsman, Z.H., D. Barshis, and C.L. Hunter. 2009. Shape-shifting corals: Molecular markers show morphology is evolutionarily plastic in Porites. BMC Evolutionary Biology 9:45-54

C.L. Hunter, E. Krauss, J. Fitzpatrick, and J. Kennedy. 2008. Current and historic distribution and abundance of the inarticulated brachiopod, Lingula reevei Davidson (1880), in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Marine Biology 155(2): 205-210.

Forsman, Z., B. Rinkevich, and C.L. Hunter. 2006. Investigating nubbin size and ex situ nursery conditions for culturing reef-building corals (Porites lobata and P. compressa). Aquaculture. 261:89-97.

Smith, J.E., C.L. Hunter, E.J. Conklin, R. Most, T. Sauvage, C. Squair, and C.M. Smith. 2004. Ecology of the invasive red alga Gracilaria salicornia (Rhodophyta) on Oahu, Hawaii. Pacific Science. 58 (2): 325-343

Walters, L.J., C.M. Smith, J.A. Coyer, C.L. Hunter, K.S. Beach, and P.S. Vroom. 2002. Asexual propagation in the coral reef macroalga Halimeda (Chlorophyta, Bryopsidales): production, dispersal and attachment of small fragments. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.278: 47-65.

Hunter, C.L. 1999. First records of coral diseases and tumors on Hawaiian reefs. Pp. 73-97 in Proc. Hawaii Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, J.E. Maragos and R. Grober-Dunsmore, East West Center and Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Honolulu, HI.

Hunter, C.L., M.D. Stephenson, G.S. Ichikawa, J.D. Goetzl, K.S. Paulson, D.B. Crane, D.G. Crosby, R.S. Tjeerdema, and J.W. Newman. 1995. Contaminants in oysters in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Mar. Poll. Bull. 30(10): 646-654.

Hunter, C.L. 1993. Clonal diversity and population structure of scleractinian coral populations under different disturbance histories. Evolution, 47(4):1213-1228.

Richmond, R. H. and C.L. Hunter. 1990. Reproduction and recruitment of corals: comparisons among the Caribbean, the tropical Pacific, and the Red Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 60:185-203.