Rate My Professor Jennifer Rehage

Jennifer Rehage is a professor in the Department of Earth and Environment and an affiliated member of the Institute of Environment at Florida International University. She earned a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Kentucky in July 2003, with a dissertation titled "Traits underlying invasiveness: A comparison of widespread & endemic species in the genus Gambusia (Poeciliidae)," advised by Andrew Sih, and a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Florida International University in December 1995, graduating magna cum laude. Her career trajectory includes serving as Assistant Professor of Ecology at Nova Southeastern University from August 2006 to July 2008, Postdoctoral Researcher in Ecology at the U.S. Geological Survey from August 2004 to July 2006, and Postdoctoral Researcher in Ecology at Florida International University from August 2003 to August 2004. She joined Florida International University as Assistant Professor of Ecology in August 2008.

As a coastal and fish ecologist working within Biology, Rehage investigates how hydroclimatic variation, water management decisions, seagrass die-offs, nutrient enrichment, and other disturbances influence fish individuals, behavior, populations, communities, ecosystem roles, and recreational fisheries in the Everglades and South Florida coastal systems. Her studies on species such as Common Snook, Bonefish, juvenile Atlantic Tarpon, Florida Largemouth Bass, and Jack Crevalle incorporate angler involvement, local ecological knowledge, and citizen science. Rehage has been principal investigator on extensive grants from the National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency, South Florida Water Management District, Everglades Foundation, Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, supporting projects on bonefish declines, coastal lake habitats, pharmaceuticals in fisheries, marsh-mangrove refuges, and seascape transformations. Key publications include "Predator–prey naïveté, antipredator behavior, and the ecology of predator invasions" (Oikos, 2010), "Ecological novelty and the emergence of evolutionary traps" (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2013), "Dispersal behavior, boldness, and the link to invasiveness: a comparison of four Gambusia species" (Biological Invasions, 2004), "Climate extremes drive changes in functional community structure" (Global Change Biology, 2014), and "Seascape heterogeneity and predictability drive movement strategy selection in estuarine predators" (Journal of Animal Ecology, 2025). She received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (1999-2002), Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (2002-2003), and Lyman T. Johnson Minority Fellowship (2002-2003).