Dr. Diego Lirman

Associate Professor, Marine Biology & Fisheries, Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science (RSMAS)
University of Miami

Phone: (305) 421-4168 | Email: dlirman@rsmas.miami.edu

Website | 

Education

Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Miami. (1997)
Ph.D., Marine Biology

California State University, Long Beach (1992)
M.S., Marine Biology

University of California, Los Angeles. (1988)
B.S., Biology

Research Interests

  1. Coastal Ecology
  2. Coastal Disturbance
  3. Coral Reef Ecology
  4. Seagrass Ecology
  5. Coral Reef Restoration
  6. Impacts of Climate Change
  7. Science Education and Outreach

Selected Publications

Books and Monographs Published:

  1. Davis, S., D. Lirman, and J. Wozniak. Nitrogen and phosphorus exchange among tropical coastal ecosystems. In: Nagelkerken, I. (ed), Ecological Connectivity Among Tropical Coastal Ecosystems. Springer Press. p. 9-43, 2009.
  2. Santos, R., D. Lirman, and S. Pittman. 2015. Long-term spatial dynamics in vegetated seascapes: fragmentation and habitat loss in a human-impacted subtropical lagoon. Marine Ecology (In Press). DOI: 10.1111/maec.12259
  3. Schopmeyer, S., and D. Lirman. 2015. Occupation dynamics and impacts of damselfish territoriality on recovering populations of the threatened staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis. PLOS One (In Press).
  4. Lohr, K., S. Bejarano, D. Lirman, S. Schopmeyer, and C. Manfrino. 2015. Optimizing the productivity of a coral nursery focused on staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis. Endangered Species Research 27:243-25

Journals:

  1. Drury, C., C.B. Paris, V.H. Kourafalou, and D. Lirman. 2018. Dispersal capacity and genetic relatedness in Acropora cervicornis on the Florida Reef Tract. Coral Reefs (In Press).
  2. Santos, R., D. Lirman, S. Pittman, and J. Serafy. 2018. Spatial patterns of seagrass and salinity regimes interact to structure marine faunal assemblages in a subtropical bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series (In Press).
  3. Parkinson, J., E. Bartels, M. Durante, C. Lustic, K. Nedymier, S. Schopmeyer, D. Lirman, T. LaJeunesse, and I. Baums. 2018. Extensive transcriptional variation poses a challenge to thermal stress biomarker development for endangered corals. Molecular Ecology (In Press).
  4. Hesley, D, Burdeno, C. Drury, S. Schopmeyer, and D. Lirman. 2017. The benefits of incorporating a citizen science program into coral reef restoration activities. Journal for Nature Conservation, DOI 10.1016/j.jnc.2017.09.001.
  5. Zink, I., J. Browder, D. Lirman, and J. Serafy. 2017. Review of salinity effects on abundance, growth, and survival of nearshore life stages of pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum). Ecological Indicators, 81:1-17.
  6. Schopmeyer S., D. Lirman, E. Bartels, D. S. Gilliam, E. A. Goergen, S. P. Griffin, M. E. Johnson, C. Lustic, K. Maxwell, C. S. Walter. 2017. Regional restoration benchmarks for Acropora cervicornis. Coral Reefs, DOI 10.1007/s00338-017-1596-3.
  7. Drury C., S. Schopmeyer, E. Larson, E. Bartels, K. Nedimeyer, M. Johnson, K. Maxwell, V. Galvan, C. Manfrino, and D. Lirman. 2017. Genomic patterns in Acropora cervicornis show extensive population structure and variable genetic diversity. Ecology and Evolution, DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3184.
  8. Drury, C and D. Lirman. 2017. Making biodiversity work for coral reef restoration. Biodiversity, doi.org/10.1080/14888386.2017.1318094.
  9. Drury, C, D. Manzello, and D. Lirman. 2017. Genotype and local environment dynamically influence growth, disturbance response and survivorship in the threatened coral Acropora cervicornis. PloS ONE, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174000.
  10. Lirman, D. and S. Schopmeyer. 2016. Ecological solutions to reef degradation: optimizing coral restoration in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic. PeerJ 4:e2597, DOI 10.7717/peerj.2597.
  11. Drury, C. K. Dale, J. Panlilo, S. Miller, D. Lirman, L. Larson, E. Bartels, D. Crawford, M. Oleksiak. 2016. Genomic variation among populations of threatened coral: Acropora cervicornis. BMC Genomics 17:286, doi/10.1186/s12864-016-2583-8.
  12. Santos, R., D. Lirman, and S. Pittman. 2016. Long-term spatial dynamics in vegetated seascapes: fragmentation and habitat loss in a human-impacted subtropical lagoon. Marine Ecology, doi/10.1111/maec.12259.
  13. Schopmeyer, S., and D. Lirman. 2015. Occupation dynamics and impacts of damselfish territoriality on recovering populations of the threatened staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis. PLoS ONE, doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0141302.
  14. Lohr, K., S. Bejarano, D. Lirman, S. Schopmeyer, and C. Manfrino. 2015. Optimizing the productivity of a coral nursery focused on staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis. Endangered Species Research 27:243-250.
  15. Lirman, D., S. Schopmeyer, V. Galvan, C. Drury, A. Baker, and I. Baums. 2014. Growth dynamics of the threatened Caribbean staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis: influence of host genotype, symbiont identity, colony size, and environmental setting. PloS ONE, dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107253.
  16. Lirman, D., N. Formel, S. Schopmeyer, J. Ault, S. Smith, D. Gilliam, and B. Riegl. 2014. Percent recent mortality as an ecological indicator of disturbance impacts and reef condition. Ecological Indicators 44:120-127.
  17. Lirman, D., T. Thyberg, R. Santos, S. Schopmeyer, C. Drury, L. Collado-Vides, S. Bellmund, and J. Serafy. 2014. SAV communities of western Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida, USA: Human and natural drivers of seagrass and macroalgae abundance and distribution along a continuous shoreline. Estuaries and Coasts 37:1243-1255.
  18. Cooper, W.T., D. Lirman, M. Porter VanGroningen, J.E. Parkinson, J. Herlan, and J.W. McManus. 2014. Assessing techniques to enhance early post-settlement survival of corals in situ for reef restoration. Bulletin of Marine Science 90:651-664.
  19. Enochs, I.C., D.P. Manzello, R. Carlton, S. Schopmeyer, R. van Hooidonk, and D. Lirman. 2014. Effects of light and elevated pCO2 on the growth and photochemical efficiency of Acropora cervicornis. Coral Reefs 33:477-485.
  20. Collado-Vides, L. C. Avila, S. Blair, D. Rodríguez, T. Thyberg, S. Schneider, J. Rojas, P. Sweeney, C. Drury, and D. Lirman. 2013. A persistent bloom of Anadyomene Lamouroux species (Anadyomenaceae, Chlorophyta) in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Aquatic Botany 111:95-103.
  21. Serafy, J.E., P. Gillette, M.W. Miller, D. Lirman, and T.R. Capo. 2013. Incorporating herbivorous sea urchins in ramet culture of staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis. Endangered Species Research 22:183-189.
  22. Schopmeyer, S., D. Lirman, E. Bartels, J. Byrne, D. Gilliam, J. Hunt, M. Johnson, E. Larson, K. Maxwell, K. Nedimyer, and C. Walter. 2012. In-situ coral nurseries serve as genetic repositories for coral reef restoration after an extreme cold-water event. Restoration Ecology 20:696-703.
  23. Santos, R. and D. Lirman. 2012. Using habitat suitability models to predict changes in seagrass niche distribution caused by water management practices. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 69:1380-1388.
  24. Huntington, B.E. and D. Lirman. 2012. Coral species richness estimates are sensitive to differences in reef size and regional diversity. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 10:110-116.
  25. Huntington, B.E. and D. Lirman. 2012. Species-area relationships in coral communities evaluating mechanisms for a commonly observed pattern. Coral Reefs 31:929-938.
  26. Young, C., S. Schopmeyer, and D. Lirman. 2012. A review of reef restoration and coral propagation using the threatened genus Acropora in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic. Bulletin of Marine Science 84:1075-1098.

Biosketch

Dr. Diego Lirman is an Associate Professor in the Marine Biology and Fisheries Division of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. His research emphasis is on the disturbance ecology and resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities. Over the past 19 years, he has worked on diverse projects to: (1) evaluate the health of seagrasses, macroalgae, and coral reef communities; (2) estimate the impacts of multiple human and natural stressors on these susceptible natural resources; (3) predict the potential impacts of future disturbances on these systems; (4) discern physiological mechanisms that enhance ecosystem resilience; and (5) develop novel survey and monitoring tools.

More recently, Dr. Lirman’s research has expanded onto the field of restoration ecology where he has concentrated on the biological restoration of threatened coral species and reef habitats. He is presently the scientific leader of a regional reef restoration program centered in the Caribbean, with active restoration projects in the Dominican Republic and Honduras. His research approach combines field monitoring, laboratory experiments, and ecological modeling to document present-day condition of critical ecosystem attributes and develop simulation scenarios to forecast the potential impacts of human and natural disturbances on ecosystem resilience.   

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