Ron J. Etter

Department of Biology University of Massachusetts-Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA 02125 Phone: (617) 287-6613 Fax: (617) 287-6650 E-mail: ron.etter@umb.edu

Education

Ph. D. Harvard University, 1987 (Biology)
B.A. summa cum laude University of Massachusetts/Boston, 1980 (Biology)

current Position

PROFESSOR

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS/BOSTON

Research Interests

We are exploring the ecology and evolution of marine organisms to determine the forces that control the origin and maintenance of biodiversity in the oceans and identify reasonable conservation strategies. Current projects include: (1) Experimental studies on the forces that shape patterns of diversity in the deep sea; (2) Population genetic analyses of shallow and deep water organisms to investigate dispersal, gene flow, population differentiation and speciation; (3) Exploring the relative importance of local and regional processes in controlling the species richness of subtidal rock wall and coral reef communities; (4) The influence of wave energy on the biology, ecology and evolution of intertidal organisms; and (5) Theoretical metapopulation models of patch dynamics.

A Graduate Fellowship (Ph.D.) is available in my lab starting in September 2008. I am looking for a highly motivated graduate student to work on an NSF funded project exploring evolution in the deep sea. The fellowship has an annual stipend of $20,000 for the duration of the project.

 

Selected Publications

Miller, R.J. and R.J. Etter. 2008. Shading facilitates sessile invertebrate dominance in the rocky subtidal Gulf of Maine. Ecology 89:452-462. pdf

McClain, CR, MA Rex and R.J. Etter. 2007. Patterns in deep-sea macroecology. In Marine Macroecology. K. Roy and J Witman eds. University of Chicago Press. In press.

Etter, RJ. 2007. Snails. pp 530-537. In M. Denny and S. Gaines Eds. Encylopedia of Tidepools. University of California Press. pdf

Devoid , S. J., R.J. Etter , M. Sugumaran, G. W. Wallace and W. E. Robinson. 2007. Histidine-rich glycoprotein from the hemolymph of the marine mussel Mytilus edulis L. Binds class A, B and borderline metals. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 26:872-877. pdf

Johnson, N. A., Campbell, J. W., Moore, T. S., Rex, M. A., Etter, R. J. McClain, C. R. and Dowell, M. D. 2007. The relationship between the standing stock of deep-sea macrobenthos and surface production in the western North Atlantic: A benthic perspective. Deep-Sea Research I, 54:1350-1360. pdf

Abebe AT, SJ. Devoid, M. Sugumaran, RJ Etter and W.E. Robinson. 2007. Identification and quantification of histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) in the blood plasma of six marine bivalves. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 147:74-81. pdf

Avery, R. and R.J. Etter. 2006. Microstructural differences in reinforcing a gastropod shell against predation. Marine Ecology Progress Series 323:159-170. pdf

Rex, M.A., R.J. Etter, J.S. Morris, J. Crouse, C.R. McClain, N.A. Johnson, C.T. Stuart, J.W. Deming, R. Thies, and R. Avery. 2006. Global bathymetric patterns of standing stock and body size in the deep-sea benthos. Marine Ecology Progress Series 317: 1-8. pdf

Zardus, J.D., R.J. Etter, M.R. Chase, M.A. Rex, and E.E. Boyle. 2006. Bathymetric and geographic population structure in the pan-Atlantic deep-sea bivalve Demininucula atacellana (Schenck 1939). Molecular Ecology 15:639-651. pdf

Etter, R.J.,  M.A. Rex, M. Chase, and J. Quattro. 2005. Population differentiation decreases with depth in deep-sea bivalves.  Evolution 59:1479-1491. pdf

McClain, CR and R.J. Etter.  2005. Mid-domain models as predictors of species diversity patterns : bathymetric diversity gradients in the deep sea.  Oikos 109: 555-566. pdf

Rex, M.A., C.R. McClain, N.A. Johnson, R.J. Etter,  J.A. Allen, P. Bouchet, and A. Waren. 2005. A source-sink hypothesis for abyssal biodiversity. American Naturalist 165:163-178. pdf

Witman, J., Etter, R.J., and F. Smith. 2004.  The relationship between regional and local diversity in marine benthic communities: a global perspective.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101: 15664-15669. pdf

Boyle, E.E., J. D. Zardus, M. R. Chase, R. J. Etter, and M. A. Rex. 2004. Strategies for molecular genetic studies of preserved deep-sea macrofauna  Deep Sea Research 51:1319-1336. pdf

Stuart, C.T., M.A. Rex and R.J. Etter 2003.  Large-scale spatial and temporal patterns of deep-sea benthic species diversity.  pp. 295-311. In: Ecosystems of the World. Tyler, P.A. (ed). Elsevier.

Quattro, J.M., M.C. Chase, M.A. Rex, and R.J. Etter. 2001. Extreme mitochondrial DNA divergence within populations of the deep-sea gastropod Frigidoalvania brychia (Verrill, 1884). Marine Biology 139:1107-1113. pdf

Levin. LA, R.J. Etter, MA Rex, AJ Gooday, CR Smith, J Pineda, CT Stuart, RR Hessler, and D Pawson. 2001. Environmental influences on regional deep-sea species diversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 32: 51-93. pdf

Trussell, G.D. and R.J. Etter. 2001. Integrating genetic and environmental forces that shape the evolution of geographic variation in a marine snail. Genetica 112:321-337. pdf

Etter, R.J. and L. Mullineaux. 2001. Deep-Sea Communities. In Marine Ecology. pp. 367-393. Bertness, M.D., S. Gaines and M. Hay (eds). Sinauer

Etter, R.J., M.A. Rex, M. Chase, and J. Quattro. 1999. A genetic dimension to deep-sea biodiversity. Deep-sea Research 46:1095-1099. pdf

Rex, M.A., R.J. Etter, A.J. Clain and M.S. Hill. 1999. Bathymetric patterns of body size in deep-sea gastropods. Evolution 53: 1298-1301. pdf

Caswell, H. and R.J. Etter 1999. Cellular automaton models for competition in patchy environments: Facilitation, inhibition and tolerance. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 61:615-649. pdf

Rex, M.A.and R.J. Etter. 1998. Bathymetric patterns of body size: implications for deep-sea biodiversity. Deep-sea Research II 45 103-127. pdf

Chase, M., Etter, R.J., M.A. Rex and J. Quattro. 1998. Bathymetric patterns of genetic variation in a deep-sea protobranch bivalve. Marine Biology 131:301-308. pdf

Chase M., Etter, R.J., M.A. Rex and J. Quattro. 1998. Extraction and amplification of mitochondrial DNA from formalin-fixed tissue from deep-sea mollusks. Biotechniques 24(2):243-247.

Rex, M.A., R.J. Etter and C.T. Stuart. 1997. Large-scale patterns of species diversity in the deep-sea benthos. pp. 94-121. In R. Ormond and J.D. Gage (eds.). Marine Biodiversity: Causes and consequences. Cambridge University Press.

Etter, R.J. 1996. The influence of wave action, prey type, and foraging time on growth rates of the predatory whelk Nucella lapillus. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 196:341-356.

Etter, R.J. and H. Caswell. 1994. The advantages of dispersal in a patchy environment: effects of disturbance in a cellular automaton model. pp 284-305 In C. Young and K. Eckelbarger eds. Reproduction, Larval Biology and Recruitment in the Deep-Sea Benthos. Columbia University Press.

Caswell, H. and R. J. Etter. 1993. Ecological Interactions in patchy environments: from patch-occupancy models to cellular automata. pp 93-109. In Levin S. A., T.M. Powell and J.H. Steele (eds.) Patch Dynamics. Springer-Verlag, New York.

Etter, R. J. and J. F. Grassle. 1992. Patterns of species diversity in the deep sea as a function of sediment particle size diversity. Nature 360: 576-578. pdf

Etter, R. J. 1991 PopDyn: an ecological simulation program. Bioscience 41: 784-790. pdf

Etter, R.J. and M.A. Rex. 1990 Population differentiation decreases with depth in deep-sea gastropods. Deep Sea Research 37: 1251-1261.

Etter, R.J. 1989. Life-history variation in the intertidal snail Nucella lapillus across a wave-exposure gradient. Ecology 70: 1857-1876. pdf

Etter, R.J. 1988. Physiological stress and color polymorphism in the intertidal snail Nucella lapillus. Evolution 42: 660-680. pdf

Etter, R.J. 1988. Asymmetrical developmental plasticity in an intertidal snail. Evolution 42: 322-334. pdf