Jonathan M Huie

George Washington University | GW · Department of Biological Sciences

Uncovering convergent and divergent patterns of diversification is a major goal of evolutionary biology. On four Greater Antillean islands, Anolis lizards have convergently evolved sets of species with similar ecologies and morphologies (ecomorphs). However, it is unclear whether closely related anoles from Central and South America exhibit similar...

Cleaning symbioses are mutualistic relationships where cleaners remove and consume ectoparasites from their clients. Cleaning behavior is rare in fishes and is a highly specialized feeding strategy only observed in around 200 species. Cleaner fishes vary in their degree of specialization, ranging from species that clean as juveniles or facultativel...

Herbivorous fishes feed on stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits, and nuts of diverse aquatic plants, as well as algae. Pacus are the herbivorous cousins of piranhas and consume a myriad of diets comprised of these plant products, but a few species are phytophages, herbivores that feed almost exclusively on rapids-dwelling (rheophilic) riverweed pl...

Although rare within the context of 30 000 species of extant fishes, scale-feeding as an ecological strategy has evolved repeatedly across the teleost tree of life. Scalefeeding (lepidophagous) fishes are diverse in terms of their ecology, behaviour, and specialized morphologies for grazing on scales and mucus of sympatric species. Despite this div...

The coastal waters of the North Pacific are home to the Northern clingfish (Gobiesox maeandricus), Pacific spiny lumpsucker (Eumicrotremus orbis), and marbled snailfish (Liparis dennyi) - three fishes that have evolved ventral adhesive discs. Clingfish adhesive performance has been studied extensively, but relatively little is known about the perfo...

Oligotrophic tropical coral reefs are built on efficient internal energy and nutrient cycling, facilitated by tight trophic interactions. In the competition for available prey, some small fishes have evolved to feed on apparently barren sand patches that connect hard‐substratum patches in many reef habitats. One strategy for obtaining prey from a p...

The Northern clingfish (Gobiesox maeandricus) has a suction-based adhesive disc that can stick to incredibly rough surfaces, a challenge for stiff commercial suction cups. Both clingfish discs and bioinspired suction cups have stiff cores but flexible edges that can deform to overcome surface irregularities. Compliant surfaces are common in nature...

Synopsis Second moment of area is a measure of how well the cross-section of a beam will resist bending because of its shape. Many have used second moment of area to investigate the mechanical adaptations of biological structures from stingray jaws to animal limb bones. In this context it is important to acknowledge the assumptions of beam theory,...

Predation, combat, and the slings and arrows of an abrasive and high impact environment, represent just some of the biotic and abiotic stressors that fishes are armored against. The Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker (Eumicrotremus orbis) found in the subtidal of the Northern Pacific Ocean is a rotund fish covered with epidermal, cone-shaped, enamel odontode...

Mussel mariculture uses the natural attachment strategy of marine mussels by allowing them to aggregate on submerged rope lines that are then pulled to the surface and harvested. Mussels attach to ropes using a network of byssal threads, proteinaceous fibers that adhere to surfaces underwater using a powerful biological glue (adhesive plaque). Plaq...