Jen Wortham, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Exercise Science

1995. University of Tampa, B.S. Biology, B.S. Marine Science, Minor Chemistry 2001. University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Advisor: Raymond T. Bauer Dissertation Titled: “The influence of social interactions and reproductive morphology on the mating behaviours of a spearer mantis shrimp, Squilla empusa”

Research Interests

Dr. Wortham’s research interests focus on the behaviors of marine animals, especially crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs. She observes interactions between males and females, as well as between individuals of the same sex, and applies principles of evolutionary biology to help understand and theorize the purpose of the behaviors. Additionally, understanding the reproductive morphology and developmental stages of marine crustaceans has been a focus of several peer-reviewed published research projects in the past five years. Recently, Dr. Wortham published research on mantis shrimp abundance and distribution in the Gulf of Mexico in response to the  absence of a large fishery in the United States. She has also started observing grooming behaviors in mantis shrimp and freshwater shrimp from Hawaii and looking at the decorating behaviors of spider crabs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Research topics that Dr. Wortham has investigated are: 

• Freshwater shrimp grooming and agonistic behaviors
• Decorating behaviors of spider crabs
• Habitat selection and grooming behaviors in stomatopods
• Crustacean by-catch and fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico
• Pedagogical techniques for Marine Biology classes and curricula 
• Marine and saltwater chemistry
• Resource defense in spearer mantis shrimp
• Agonistic interactions (aggressive or defensive social interactions between members of the same species) in spearer mantis shrimp
• Reproductive morphology of stomatopods
• Mating strategies of stomatopods
• Embryonic development of mysid crustaceans
• Reproductive behaviors of mysid crustaceans 
  

Questions that behavioral biology can help address:

1. How does reproductive morphology influence behavioral interactions between opposite sexed individuals?
2. How does the need for a resource influence behaviors between same sexed and opposite sexed individuals?
3. How do same sexed agonistic interactions differ from opposite sexed interactions?
4. Do males and females (as well as different species) differ in their grooming behaviors in terms of frequency and areas groomed?
5. Do males differ from other males in their preferred habitat?
6. What is the energy budget of crustaceans for performing different behaviorial actions?

Research Projects for Undergraduates:

1. Grooming behaviors and functional morphology in the freshwater shrimp Macrobrachium of Hawaii. Two species of this shrimp live in Hawaii in the same habitat. One is endemic and the other is an introduced species. One has symmetrical chelipeds while the other has chelipeds of different sizes. One also has a large setae patch on the cheliped; the other does not. In what ways do their grooming behaviors differ, if any? What is the function of their chelipeds and what is the function of the "hair" patch? What is the energy budget for grooming of this shrimp? Dr. Wortham is working with Dr. Mark McRae and junior marine biology major Lauren Van Maurik.
2. Decorating behaviors of spider crabs Libinia in the Gulf of Mexico. Spider crabs are known for their decorating behaviors.  However, little is known about their ability to "pick" decorating materials that camouflage them versus making them more distinct. Currently, a laboratory and field study is being conducted that looks at this selection of materials. Do crabs in a natural "dull" environment select dull or bright materials to use in decoration? Do crabs in a brightly colored environment select bright materials to use in decoration? What is the percent coverage of decoration on spider crabs in the field? What types of natural materials do spider crabs use in decoration (seaweed, filamentous algae, sponges, sea grasses)? Dr. Wortham currently has two senior marine biology majors working on this project in the marine laboratory, Meagan Nistler and Victoria Toro.
3. Distribution and abundance of mantis shrimp in the Tampa Bay area. The research literature has not documented the fauna of mantis shrimp and their impact on the sediment quality and overall quality of the marine environment. This project is likely to be a joint project with Dr. Wayne Price in the UT Department of Biology and a researcher from the Florida Department of Marine Resources. It would involve collecting benthic fauna from many habitats in the bay and determining where and how many mantis shrimp are located in the area.
4. Behavioral biology and ecology of mantis shrimp. Dr. Wortham is also interested in studying the social behaviors of mantis shrimp that utilize different life history tactics in order to help elucidate how much environment “drives” behavior. For example, there is a species of mantis shrimp found in Tampa Bay that rarely leaves the burrow. Dr. Wortham would like to study this mantis shrimp’s social and agonistic behaviors. These behavioral experiments can be set up and observed in her marine behavioral research laboratory.
5. Horseshoe crab reproductive behaviors. There are several areas in Tampa Bay where horseshoe crabs come to breed seasonally. Dr. Wortham is open to studying the relationship between female and male size and mating behaviors in Tampa Bay, looking at: 1) Do larger females have more males attempting to breed than smaller females? 2) Do males switch between female mates during a breeding period? 3) What is the sex-ratio of horseshoe crabs in Tampa Bay?

Selected Publications and Presentations

Wortham, J. 2009. Abundance and distribution of two species of Squilla (Crustacea: Stomatopoda: Squillidae) in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Gulf and Caribbean Research. 12 pages (in press).

Wortham, J. 2008. Grooming and mantis shrimp. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. (peer-reviewed international journal) (abstract).

Wortham, J. 2007. Grooming review of mantis shrimp. Florida Academy of Sciences. (peer-reviewed regional journal) (abstract).

Wortham, J. 2007. A new fishery in the Gulf of Mexico: Biological data on Squilla (Crustacea:Stomatopoda). Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. (peer-reviewed international journal) (abstract).
 
Wortham, J. 2005. A comparison of habitat-related and grooming behaviors between males and females of a spearer mantis shrimp. Florida Academy of Sciences 68 (1):29-30. (peer-reviewed regional journal) (abstract)

Wortham, J. and B. Mock. 2004. Grooming behaviors in a spearer mantis shrimp. [CD-ROM] Proceedings from the National Conference for Undergraduate Research. Asheville, North Carolina. (peer-reviewed national journal) (abstract)

Wortham, J. and J. West. 2004. Habitat preference and behaviors in a spearer mantis shrimp. [CD-ROM} Proceedings from the National Conference for Undergraduate Research. Asheville, North Carolina. (peer-reviewed national journal) (abstract)

Wortham, J. and E. Ball. 2003. The importance of nutrient levels and saltwater chemistry on marine organisms. [CD-ROM] Proceedings from the National Conference for Undergraduate Research. Asheville, North Carolina. (peer-reviewed, national journal)

Wortham-Neal, J. & Price, W. W. 2002. Marsupial Development of Americamysis bahia (Crustacea:Mysida). The Journal of Crustacean Biology 22(1):98-112. (peer-reviewed, international journal)

Wortham-Neal, J. 2002. Intraspecific agonistic interactions of Squilla empusa (Crustacea: Stomatopoda). Behavior 139: 463-486. (peer-reviewed, international journal)

Wortham-Neal, J. 2002. Reproductive morphology and biology of male and female mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda:Squilladae). Journal of Crustacean Biology 22(4): 728-74. (peer-reviewed, international journal)