Faculty & Staff
Nancy J. O'Connor
North Carolina State University, 1990 Ph.D.
Professor and Chairperson
Research Interests:
My research addresses questions related to the ecology of marine invertebrates, particularly coastal species of crabs. Many marine invertebrates have complex life cycles encompassing both planktonic larval stages and benthic juvenile and adult stages. The transition from planktonic to benthic life represents a critical stage in development of invertebrates. What cues a larva to settle to the bottom of the ocean and metamorphose to a juvenile? My research focuses on habitat characteristics that stimulate or inhibit the settlement and metamorphosis (molting) of late-stage larvae of crabs, called megalopae, both in the laboratory and the field. In addition, since the late 1990s my lab group has been investigating the ecological impacts of the invasion of the Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, on coastal ecosystems, focusing on the potential effects of the Asian shore crab on resident crab species and the incorporation of the crab into food webs as both predator and prey.
Recent Publications:
O'Connor, N.J. 2008. Stimulation of molting in megalopae of the Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus: physical and chemical cues. Marine Ecology Progress Series 352: 1-8 [feature article]
Kim, A.K.A. and N.J. O'Connor. 2007. Early stages of the Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus as potential prey for the striped killifish Fundulus majalis Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 346: 28-35
O'Connor, N.J. and B.T. Van. 2006. Adult fiddler crabs Uca pugnax (Smith) enhance sediment-associated cues for molting of conspecific megalopae. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 335: 123-130
O'Connor, N.J. 2005. Influence of extracts of adult crabs on molting of fiddler crab megalopae (Uca pugnax). Marine Biology 146: 753-759
O'Connor, N.J. and M.L. Judge. 2004. Molting of fiddler crab Uca minax megalopae: stimulatory cues are specific to salt marshes. Marine Ecology Progress Series 282: 229-236
Bourdeau, P.E. and N.J. O'Connor. 2003. Predation by the nonindigenous Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus on macroalgae and molluscs. Northeastern Naturalist 10: 319-334 [cover article]
Ledesma, M. E. and N. J. O'Connor. 2001. Habitat and diet of the non-native crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus in southern New England. Northeastern Naturalist\ 8: 63-78
Recent Graduate Students:
Johanna C. Blasi. \;Marine amphipods as prey for the non-indigenous crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus (De Haan 1853) (graduated May 2003)
Anita K. Kim. \The Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, as a novel food source for the striped killifish, Fundulus majalis (graduated June 2002)
Jennifer A. Rasch. Influence of fish allelochemicals on development and behavior of megalopae of the Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus (graduated May 2008)
Kelly A. Simmons. Competition for shelter between indigenous mud crabs and the nonindigenous Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus (graduated January 2004)
Heather R. Spence. Recruitment of the invaders: Factors affecting distribution of early stage Hemigrapsus sanguineus and other crabs in southeastern New England with implications for shellfish aquaculture (graduated January 2008)
Courses Taught:
General Ecology (BIO 314)
Biology of Invertebrates (BIO 317)
Marine Benthic Ecology (BIO 526)
