Brian K. Walker

Brian K. Walker, Ph.D., is a research scientist at the Nova Southeastern University. His research centers on the spatial distribution of organisms, coral reef ecology and geology, reef fish ecology, and landscape/seascape ecology. Of recent particular interest is building community biogeography into benthic habitat maps to inform ecosystem-based management and stopping coral disease progression and restoring populations through assisted reproduction of the most resilient individuals. He is active in shallow and deep water benthic habitat mapping, habitat impact assessment and restoration, GIS spatial analyses, optical remote-sensing, and hydrographic survey research, particularly LIDAR and sonar-based seafloor discrimination. His research has taken place in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean and South Pacific including Florida, Mexico, Fiji, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dr. Walker has held many grants and contracts from various agencies, and he has authored numerous publications including technical reports, book chapters, and scientific peer-reviewed publications. His GIS and Spatial Ecology lab houses eight graduate students including three employees whose research spans staghorn coral dense patch dynamics, coral disease intervention, and the biogeography of west Florida shelf reef communities.