Michael H.
Horn
Professor of
Biology
____________________________
California State University
Fullerton
Department of Biological
Science
800 N. State College
Boulevard
Fullerton CA 92834-6850
(657) 278-3707
mhorn@fullerton.edu
___________________
February 2010
___________________________________________________
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Teaching Philosophy
I strive to provide up-to-date, hands-on experiences through lab and field exercises and inquiry-based investigations. In all of my recent classes, groups of students undertake problem-based learning projects giving them the opportunity to work together to seek solutions by integrating and interpreting material gathered from the print literature, the internet, and through direct contact with professionals actively involved in the field.
Courses Recently Taught
Biol 330 Sustainability Ecology: American
Indian Models – non-majors (Spring 2010)
Biol 401 Biogeography - upper division elective (Fall 2008)
Biol 450 Conservation Biology - upper division elective (Spring 2010)
Biol 475 Ichthyology - upper division elective (Spring 2007)
Biol 500A&B Professional Aspects of Biology - graduate student requirement (Fall 2009)
Biol 517T Seminar in Ecology - graduate student elective (Marine Conservation Biology, Spring 2006)
RESEARCH PROGRAM
Feeding ecology and digestive physiology of
herbivorous fishes
Marine fishes - Our research focuses on the ontogeny and phylogeny of dietary specialization involving gut structure and function in carnivorous and herbivorous fishes, the evolution of herbivory, and answering the question: What does it take to be a herbivore?.
Current projects:
Tropical freshwater fishes - Our research focuses on fruit-eating fish in Neotropical rain forests as related to seed dispersal, terrestrial – aquatic linkages, fish-tree interactions, and the evolution of frugivory in characiform fishes with emphasis on the genus Brycon.
Current project:
Foraging ecology of fish-eating seabirds
Our research focuses on the food and foraging of terns and skimmers nesting in southern California, their trophic structure, and their response to wetland restoration, shifting prey abundance, and changing ocean climate.
Current projects:
· Effects of a recent increase in pipefish, a low-quality prey, on growth and development of Elegant Tern chicks
· Spatial and temporal foraging patterns of the Elegant Tern using tracking technology
Conservation
biology of rare and endangered species
The research focuses
on the concept of rarity applied to endangered species and their close
relatives
Current project:
Evaluation of rarity in a diverse array of
California endangered species and their closest relatives
Sotka, E. E., J. Forbey, M. Horn, A. G. B. Poore, D. Raubenheimer and K. E. Whalen (2009) The emerging role of pharmacology in understanding consumer-prey interactions in marine and freshwater systems. Integrative and Comparative Biology 49: 291-313.
Albrecht, M. P., E. P. Caramaschi and M. H. Horn (2009) Population responses of two omnivorous fish species to impoundment of a Brazilian tropical river. Hydrobiologia 627: 181-193.
Horn, M. H. (2010) Global warming and overexploitation in the Northeastern Pacific: challenges driving the need for sustainability. In: Climate change and sustainable development (R. A. Reck, ed.) Forum on Public Policy, Oxford Round Table, Oxford, England (accepted).
Horn, M. H. and C. T.
Collins (2010) Introduction: Increase in size and diversity of tern and skimmer colonies in
southern California as an impetus for studies of foraging ecology. Studies
in Avian Biology (accepted).
Dahdul, W. M. and M. H.
Horn (2010) Diurnal
and seasonal foraging periodicity of the terns and skimmers nesting at the
Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in southern California. Studies in Avian
Biology (accepted).
Wilson, J. F. and M. H.
Horn (2010) Diel periodicity and dietary breadth of the Black Skimmer nesting at the Bolsa
Chica Ecological Reserve. Studies in Avian Biology (accepted).
Chavez, K. J. H. and M.
H. Horn (2010) Gut
passage time, energy assimilation efficiency and growth in captive Caspian Tern
and Elegant Tern chicks. Studies in Avian Biology (accepted).
Schallmann, R. A., C. T. Collins, D. W. Bradley and M. H. Horn (2010) Growth of Elegant Tern chicks at two breeding colonies in southern California during and immediately following the 1997-1998 El Niño event. Studies in Avian Biology (accepted).
Hendricks, J. N. and M. H. Horn (2008) Foraging ecology of the Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve with new full tidal basin. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 107(2): 116 (abstract).
Horn, M. H. (2007) Global warming and
overexploitation in the Northeastern Pacific: challenges that drive the need
for solutions to achieve sustainability. Forum topic: Global warming and
sustainable development. Forum on Public
Policy, A Journal of the Oxford Round
Table 3(4): 325-336.
Horn, M. H. and L. G.
Allen (2007) Fishes,
pp. 232-237. In: Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores (M. W. Denny and S. D. Gaines, eds.). University of California Press, Berkeley.
Boyle, K. S. and M. H. Horn (2006) Comparison of feeding guild structure and
ecomorphology of intertidal fish assemblages from central California and
central Chile. Marine Ecology Progress
Series 319: 65-84.
Horn, M. H., A. K. Gawlicka, D. P. German, E. A.
Logothetis, J. W. Cavanagh, and K. S. Boyle (2006) Structure and function of the stomachless digestive system in three
related species of New World silverside fishes (Atherinopsidae) representing
herbivory, omnivory, and carnivory. Marine
Biology 149(5): 1237-1245.
German, D. P. and M. H. Horn (2006) Gut length and mass in herbivorous and
carnivorous prickleback fishes (Teleostei: Stichaeidae): ontogenetic, dietary,
and phylogenetic effects. Marine Biology 148(5): 1123-1134.
Gawlicka, A. K. and M. H. Horn (2006) Trypsin gene expression by quantitative in situ hybridization in carnivorous and
herbivorous prickleback fishes (Teleostei: Stichaeidae): ontogenetic, dietary,
and phylogenetic effects. Physiological
and Biochemical Zoology 79(1): 120-132.
Allen, L. G., D. J.
Pondella II and M. H. Horn (eds.) (2006) The ecology of marine fishes:
California and adjacent waters. University of California Press, Berkeley, 660 p.
Horn, M. H., L. G.
Allen and R. N. Lea (2006) Biogeography, Chapter 1, pp. 3-25. In: The
ecology of marine fishes: California and adjacent waters (L. G. Allen, D.
J. Pondella II and M. H. Horn, eds.). University of California Press, Berkeley.
Allen, L. G., M. M.
Yoklavich, G. M. Cailliet and M. H. Horn (2006) Bays and estuaries, Chapter 5, pp. 119-148. In: The ecology of marine fishes: California and adjacent waters (L. G.
Allen, D. J. Pondella II and M. H. Horn, eds.). University of California Press,
Berkeley.
Horn, M. H. and K. L.
M. Martin (2006) Rocky intertidal
zone, Chapter 8, pp. 205-226. In: The
ecology of marine fishes: California and adjacent waters (L. G. Allen, D.
J. Pondella II and M. H. Horn, eds.). University of California Press, Berkeley.
Horn, M. H. and L. A.
Ferry-Graham (2006) Feeding
mechanisms and trophic interactions, Chapter 14, pp. 387-410. In: The ecology of marine fishes: California and
adjacent waters (L. G. Allen, D. J. Pondella II and M. H. Horn, eds.).
University of California Press, Berkeley.
Horn, M. H. and J. S.
Stephens Jr. (2006) Climate change
and overexploitation, Chapter 25, pp. 621-635. In: The ecology of marine fishes: California and adjacent waters (L. G.
Allen, D. J. Pondella II and M. H. Horn, eds.). University of California Press,
Berkeley.
Gawlicka, A. K. and
M. H. Horn (2005) Storage and
absorption in the digestive system of carnivorous and herbivorous prickleback
fishes (Teleostei: Stichaeidae): ontogenetic, dietary, and phylogenetic
effects. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 78(6): 879-892.
Floeter, S. R., M. D. Behrens, C. E. L. Ferreira, M. J. Paddack and M. H. Horn (2005) Geographical gradients of marine herbivorous fishes: patterns and processes. Marine Biology 147(10): 1435-1447.
German, D. P., M. H.
Horn and A. Gawlicka (2004) Digestive
enzyme activities in herbivorous and carnivorous prickleback fishes (teleostei:
Stichaeidae): ontogenetic, dietary, and phylogenetic effects. Physiological
and Biochemical Zoology 77(5): 789-804.
O’Reilly, K. M. and
M. H. Horn (2004) Phenotypic
variation among populations of Atherinops affinis (Atherinopsidae) with
insights from a geometric morphometric analysis. Journal of Fish Biology 64(4): 1117-1135.
Drewe, K. E., M. H. Horn,
K. A. Dickson and A. Gawlicka (2004) Insectivore to frugivore: ontogenetic changes in gut morphology and digestive
enzyme activity in the characid fish Brycon guatemalensis from Costa
Rica rain forest streams. Journal of Fish Biology 64(4): 890-902.
Dahdul, W. M. and M.
H. Horn (2003) Energy allocation and postnatal growth in
captive Elegant Tern (Sterna elegans) chicks: responses to
high- versus low-energy diets. Auk 120(4): 1069-1081.
Banack, S. A., M. H.
Horn and A. Gawlicka (2002) Disperser- vs. establishment limited distribution of a riparian fig tree (Ficus
insipida) in a Costa Rican tropical rain forest. Biotropica 34(2):
232-243.
Sturm, E. A. and M.
H. Horn (2001) Increase in
occurrence and abundance of zebraperch (Hermosilla azurea) in the Southern
California Bight in recent decades. Bulletin Southern California Academy of
Sciences 100(3): 170-174.
Logothetis, E. A., M. H. Horn and K. A. Dickson (2001) Gut morphology and function in Atherinops affinis (Teleostei: Atherinopsidae), a stomachless omnivore feeding on macroalgae. Journal of Fish Biology 59(5): 1298-1312.
Gawlicka, A., B. Parent, M. H. Horn, N. Ross, I. Opstad and O. J. Torrissen (2000) Activity of digestive enzymes in yolk-sac larvae of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus): indication of readiness for first feeding. Aquaculture 184(3, 4): 303-314.
Horn, M. H. and A. Gawlicka (2000) Digestion in fish, 9 pp. In: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. Macmillan Reference Limited, London, England. (Internet Publication: www. els.net/elsonline/html/A0001838.html).
Horn, M. H., K. L. M. Martin and M. A. Chotkowski (eds.) (1999) Intertidal Fishes: Life in Two Worlds. Academic Press, San Diego, California.
Horn, M. H., K. L. M. Martin and M. A. Chotkowski (1999) Introduction, pp. 1-6. In: Intertidal Fishes: Life in Two Worlds (M. H. Horn, K. L. M. Martin, eds.). Academic Press, San Diego, California.
Horn, M. H. and F. P. Ojeda (1999) Herbivory, pp. 197-222. In: Intertidal Fishes: Life in Two Worlds (M. H. Horn, K. L. M. Martin and M. A. Chotkowski, eds.). Academic Press, San Diego, California.
Horn, M. H. (1999) Convergent evolution and community convergence: Research potential using intertidal fishes, pp. 356-372. In: Intertidal Fishes: Life in Two Worlds (M. H. Horn, K. L. Martin and M. A. Chotkowski, eds.). Academic Press, San Diego, California.
CURRENT GRADUATE STUDENTS AND THEIR
THESIS PROJECTS
Jeanette Hendricks (undergraduate institution, CSU Fullerton) –
Foraging ecology of the Elegant Tern (Thalasseus
elegans) at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve with newly created full
tidal basin
Justin Smith (CSU Fullerton) – A quantitative, mapping-based
niche comparison of California endangered species and their closest relatives
Tyler Flisik (CSU Fullerton) – Effects of a recent increase in pipefish, a low-quality prey, on growth and development of Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) chicks
Ben Higgins (Pitzer College) – Feeding meets reproduction: jaw mechanics, dietary breadth, and feeding behavior in the beach-spawning California grunion (Teleostei: Atherinopsidae)
Alyssa Stephenson (Univ Maine) – Spatiotemporal foraging
patterns of nesting Elegant Terns (Thalasseus elegans)
in southern California based on radio tracking
Kelly Kim Min (2008) – Science Teacher, Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton, CA
Kelly Connell (2007) - Administrative Manager, Inside the Outdoors, Irvine, CA
Mike Saba (2004) – Biologist, Orange County Vector Control, Anaheim, CA
Kelly Boyle (2004) – Ph.D. Student, Department of Zoology, University of Hawai’i
Ingrid Chlup (2003) – Biologist, Glen Lukos Associates, Lake Forest, CA
Donovan German (2003) – Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
Albert Chan (2003) – Veterinarian, Monterey, CA
Karen Drewe (2003) – Biologist, California Department of Fish and Game, San Pedro
Darryl Smith (2002) – Lecturer in Biology, CSU Fullerton
Wasila Dahdul (2001) – Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology, University of South Dakota
James Cavanagh (2001) – Science Teacher, Sycamore Junior High School, Anaheim, CA
Kelly O’Reilly (2001) – Manager, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, California Department of Fish & Game, Huntington Beach
Elaine Logothetis (2000) – Co-owner, Sapona Green Building Supply, Wilmington, North Carolina