Theresa Rueger

 

Dr. Theresa Rueger is a lecturer in Tropical Marine Ecology at Newcastle University. Originally from Germany, she did her PhD in Australia and currently lives in the UK. She has worked on marine projects in the Caribbean, the Great Barrier Reef and Papua New Guinea.

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Theresa’s research focuses on the evolution of mating and social systems in coral reef fishes. She uses field and lab experiments as well as genetic methods to find out if fish live with their relatives, why they live in groups and why there is such great diversity of mating systems in coral reef fishes. For this work, she uses reef fishes with interesting social and mating systems, such as cardinalfishes, where the dads brood eggs in their mouths, and gobies, that live in groups with strict size hierarchies and have a close relationship with their corals.

  

Theresa is also a passionate teacher and mentor, teaching university courses and helping with a local education program in Papua New Guinea (teaching school children and students of the teacher’s college) whenever she is in the field. She loves snorkeling, diving, and sharing her passion for coral reef fishes with others.

 

Join Theresa for a fun and scientific "game" of 'I Spy' at one of Saba's unique dive sites! How many cryptobenthic creatures can you find???

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Presentation: Saturday, October 1st

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