Department of Biological Science

Biological Science Faculty Member

Personal Website
Coleman Laboratory

Full Research Faculty, FSU Coastal & Marine Laboratory
PHD Florida State University 1991, Graduate Faculty Status

Research and Professional Interests:

I am a marine ecologist with primary research interests in species behavior, interactions, and habitat use. My research drew me to examine how science was incorporated into policies that affect the management and conservation of nature. What I found was the the transfer of information from scientists to stakeholders and policy makers was imperfect.  Thus, I strive to bridge the gap through community engagement and service on national councils (e.g., past service on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and panels for the National Research Council, including those evaluating marine protected areas, the use of best available science in fisheries management, and the sustainabilitity of marine laboratories and field stations.  I am an Aldo Leopold Conservation Fellow and a Pew Marine Conservation Fellow.

I am currently f full faculty member of the Florida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory and Co-Principal Investigator of the Apalachicola Bay System Initiative, a major endeavor focused on conducting scientific studies that will inform a critically needed ecosystem-based oyster management and restoration plan for the bay.

Selected Publications:

Koenig, CK, FC Coleman, CR Malinowski.  2019. Atlantic Goliath Grouper of Florida: to fish or not to fish. Fisheries  https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10349 

Pérez-Portela, R, A Bumford, B Coffman, S Wedelich, M Davenport,  A Fogg, MK Swenarton, F Coleman, MA Johnston, DF Crawford, MF Oleksiak. 2018. Genetic homogeneity of the invasive lionfish across the Northwestern Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms.  Nature Scientific Reports 8 Article number 5062 (2018) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23339-w

Levin, PS, TE Essington, KN Marshall, LE Koehn, LG Anderson, A Bundy, C Carothers, F Coleman, LR Gerber, JH Grabowski, E Houde.  2018. Building effective fishery ecosystem plans.  Marine Policy 92(June 2018):48-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.01.019

Koenig, CC, LS Bueno, FC Coleman, JA Cusick, RD Ellis, K Kingon, JV Locascio, C. Malinowski, DJ Murie, CD Stallings.  2017. Diel, lunar, and seasonal spawning patterns of the Atlantic goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara, off Florida, United States.  Bulletin of Marine Science 93 (2): 391-406 (16) April 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.5343/bms.2016.1013

Jue NK, T. Brule, FC Coleman, CC Koenig. 2015. From Shelf to Shelf: Assessing Historical and Contemporary Genetic Differentiation and Connectivity across the Gulf of Mexico in Gag, Mycteroperca microlepis. PLOS One:10(4):e0120676.  http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120676

Travis, J, FC Coleman, PJ Auster, PM Cury, JA Estes, J Orensanz, CH Peterson, ME Power, RS Steneck, JT Wootton. 2013. Integrating the invisible fabric of nature into fisheries management. PNAS https://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/581

Nelson, J, R Wilson, F Coleman, C Koenig, D DeVries, C Gardner, J Chanton. 2012. Flux by fin: fish-mediated carbon and nutrient flux in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Mar Biol (2012) 159:365-372

Coleman, FC, CC Koenig, K. Scanlon, S. Heppell, S. Heppell, and M. W. Miller. 2010. Benthic habitat modification through excavation by red grouper Epinephelus morio (Valenciennes) in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. The Open Fish Science Journal 3:1-15   http://benthamopen.com/tofishsj/articles/V003/1TOFISHSJ.pdf

Coleman, FC, CC Koenig. 2010. The Effects of Fishing, Climate Change, and Other Anthropogenic Disturbances on Red Grouper and Other Reef Fishes in the Gulf of Mexicos. Integrative and Comparative Biology 50:201-212.   http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/2/201.full.pdf+html

Koenig, CC, FC Coleman, AM Eklund, J Schull, J Ueland. 2007. Mangroves as essential nursery habitat for goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara). Bulletin of Marine Science 80(3):567-586.

Coleman, FC, S. Williams. 2002. Overexploiting marine ecosystem engineers: potential consequences for biodiversity. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17(1):40-44. https://mcbi.marine-conservation.org/publications/pub_pdfs/overexploiting_2002.pdf

Coleman, FC, WF Figueira, JS Ueland, LB Crowder. 2004.  The impact of US recreational fisheries on marine fish populations.  Science 305:1958-1960.   https://science.sciencemag.org/content/305/5692/1958  

Dayton, PK, S Thrush, FC Coleman.  2002.  Ecological effects of fishing in marine ecosystems of the United States.  Pew Oceans Commission, Arlington, Virginia. 45 pp.