People | Douglas C. Miller

• Ph.D., Oceanography, University of Washington, 1985.
• M.S., Oceanography, University of Washington, 1981.
• B.S., Biology, University of Notre Dame, 1979.

• Habitat mapping and species distribution modeling using robotics and statistical models
• Distribution and functioning of hard-bottom benthic communities
• Benthic communities as a time machine: revealing historical trends across multiple surveys

• Abundance, diversity and benthic assemblages of the Delaware Estuary Benthic Inventory (DEBI)
• Mining of historical benthic data from the W.H. Amos Delaware River Invertebrate Collection (DRIC)
• Invasive species and larval behavior: physical-biological models of mitten crabs dispersal
• Mapping distributions of megafauna from bottom imagery: sea scallops and barrel sponges
• Nesting and larval biology of the horseshoe crab in coastal bays

• Emily Maung, Ph.D. Dissertation "The horseshoe crabs of Delaware: An analysis of local populations and endocrine disrupting compounds."  Defense expected in summer 2012.
• Emily Olson, Senior Thesis "The ecology of juvenile horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemis, in Delaware's inland bays." To be completed in May 2012

• Fall 2012: MAST 421/621 Coastal Field Biology, and a new course on Marine Imagery Analysis with A. Trembanis
• Winter 2013 in New Zealand: MAST 421 Coastal Field Biology and MAST 451 Marine Invertebrate Biodiversity, study abroad program co-directed with P. Gaffney
• Spring 2013: MAST 820 Data Analysis and Statistical Models

Interested in senior thesis, semester in residence or summer internships?  I welcome the opportunity to mentor undergraduates.  We do fieldwork at sites in Delaware Bay, at Cape Henlopen and in Delaware's Inland Bays, from the shoreline, small boats or coastal research vessels.  Since our lab is located in the best place in the world to study horseshoe crabs, many recent undergraduate projects have focused on the biology of these fascinating creatures.

Please email me for .pdf files of these publications or click on the link below:

Raineault, N.A., Trembanis, A.C., Miller, D.C. and Capone, V. 2013. Interannual changes in seafloor surficial geology at an artificial reff site on the inner continental shelf. Continental Shelf Research 58:67-78.

Raineault, N.A., Trembanis, A.C. and Miller, D.C. 2011. Mapping benthic habitats in Delaware Bay and the coastal Atlantic: Acoustic techniques provide greater coverage and high resolution in complex, shallow-water environments. Estuaries and Coasts doi:10.1007/s12237-011-9457-8.

Brown, J.R. and Miller, D.C.  2011.  Persistence and distribution of temperate intertidal worm reefs in Delaware Bay: A comparison of biological and physical factors.  Est. Coasts 34:583-596.

Tilburg, C.E., Dittel, A.I., Miller, D.C. and Epifanio, C.E.  2011. Transport and retention of the mitten crab (Eirocheir sinensis) in a Mid-Atlantic estuary: Predictions from a larval transport model.  J. Mar. Res. 69:137-165.

Wehmiller, J.F. Thieler, E.R., Miller, D., Pellerito, V., Bakeman Keeney, V., Riggs, S.R., Culver, S., Mallinson, D., Farrell, K.M., York, L.L., Pierson, J., and Parham, P.R. 2010. Aminostratigraphy of surface and subsurface Quaternary sediments, North Carolina coastal plain, USA. Quat. Geochronol. 5:459-492. 

Dale, R.K. and D.C. Miller. 2008. Hydrologic interactions of infaunal polychaetes and intertidal groundwater discharge. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 363:205-215. 

Cowart, D.A., Ulrich, P.N., Miller, D.C. and Marsh, A.G. 2008. Salinity sensitivity of early embryos of the Antarctic sea urchin, Sterechinus neumayeri. Polar Biol. 32:435-441.

Dale, R.K. and D.C. Miller. 2007. Spatial and temporal patterns of salinity and temperature at an intertidal groundwater seep. Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 72:283-298.

Pilditch, C.A. and D. C. Miller. 2006. Phytoplankton deposition to permeable sediments under oscillatory flow: effects of ripple geometry and resuspension. Cont. Shelf Res. 26:1806-1825.

Miller, D.C. and W.J. Ullman. 2004. Ecological consequences of groundwater discharge to Delaware Bay. Ground Water Journal. Ground Water-Oceans Issue 42(7):959-970.

Ullman, W.J., B. Chang, D.C. Miller and J.A. Madsen. 2003. Groundwater mixing, nutrient diagenesis, and discharges across a sandy beachface, Cape Henlopen, Delaware (USA). Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 57:539-552.

Miller, D.C., C.L. Muir and O.A. Hauser. 2002. Detrimental effects of sedimentation on marine benthos: what can be learned from natural processes and rates? Ecol. Eng. 19:211-232.

Miller, D.C., A. Norkko and C.A. Pilditch. 2002. Influence of diet on dispersal of horse mussel Atrina zelandica biodeposits. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 242:153-167.

Bock, M.J. and D.C. Miller. 1999. Particle selectivity, gut volume, and the response to a step change in diet for deposit-feeding polychaetes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 44:1132-1138.

Karrh, R.R. and D.C. Miller. 1996. Effect of flow and sediment transport on feeding rate of a surface-deposit feeder, Saccoglossus kowalevskii. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 130:125-134.

MacIntyre, H.L., R.J. Geider and D.C. Miller. 1996. Microphytobenthos: The ecological role of the "Secret Garden" of unvegetated, shallow-water marine habitats. I. Distribution, abundance and primary production. Estuaries 19:186-201.

Miller, D.C., R. J. Geider and H. L. MacIntyre. 1996. Microphytobenthos: the ecological role of the "Secret Garden" of unvegetated, shallow-water marine habitats. II. Role in sediment stability and shallow-water food webs. Estuaries 19:202-212.

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