About

Andrew Altieri is an Associate Professor and the Interim Director of the Center for Coastal Solutions at the University of Florida. He earned his BA at UC Santa Cruz and his PhD at Brown University, followed by postdoctoral research at Northeastern University and Brown University. Prior to joining UF, he was a staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. His research interests focus on human impacts on coastal ecosystems, particularly the ecological interactions that influence the response of biogenic habitats and their associated communities to those impacts. As an Associate Director in UF's Center for Coastal Solutions, he contributes to interdisciplinary efforts aimed at understanding and addressing coastal environmental challenges.

Research topics

• Geography
• Biology
• Ecology
• Environmental science
• Oceanography
• Geology
• Fishery
• Cartography

Selected publications

• Ha et al._Tank light levels (Table 1)

  Figshare · 2026-05-08

  datasetOpen access

  Raw data for manuscript submitted to Coral Reefs.Manuscript title: Deoxygenation has limited effects on coral settlement and early recruit survivalAuthors: Jennifer Ha, Ariel Pezner, Cassady Dougan, Reagan Mason, Jennifer Sneed, Alyssa Demko, Andrew H. Altieri, Valerie J. Paul, Maggie D. JohnsonResearch from temperate habitats has shown that deoxygenation and hypoxic events have catastrophic consequences for marine ecosystems. Similar impacts have recently been observed in tropical coral reef habitats, where both long-term and acute deoxygenation events affect reef organisms. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how oxygen depletion affects different species and life stages of reef-building corals. Here, we tested the impacts of deoxygenation on brooded larvae of <i>Porites astreoides</i> and broadcast-spawned larvae of <i>Diploria labyrinthiformis</i>. Competent larvae were exposed to constant ambient conditions (6.0 mg L^-1), mild deoxygenation (3.5 mg L^-1), or severe deoxygenation (1.5 mg L^-1) during their settlement and early recruitment phase. Percent settlement was quantified after 3 days (72 h) of treatment exposure by counting settled larvae, and recruits were counted again 20 days post-settlement to evaluate early recruit survival. Settlement was significantly higher in <i>D. labyrinthiformis</i> than in <i>P. astreoides,</i> regardless of oxygen treatment, which had no significant effect. Survival did not vary by species or oxygen treatment. The lack of a notable deoxygenation effect contributes to an emerging body of work suggesting that early life-history stages of corals are more resilient to deoxygenation in the bulk water column than adults of the same species. Our study emphasizes the importance of characterizing species-specific life history responses in the context of oxygen depletion to better predict coral reef community responses to the emerging threat of deoxygenation.Data are for treatment tank light levels (Table 1).

  PublisherDOI

• Ha et al._Tank treatment conditions (temperature, salinity, pH, PAR, dissolved oxygen)

  Figshare · 2026-05-08

  datasetOpen access

  Raw data for manuscript submitted to Coral Reefs.Manuscript title: Deoxygenation has limited effects on coral settlement and early recruit survivalAuthors: Jennifer Ha, Ariel Pezner, Cassady Dougan, Reagan Mason, Jennifer Sneed, Alyssa Demko, Andrew H. Altieri, Valerie J. Paul, Maggie D. JohnsonResearch from temperate habitats has shown that deoxygenation and hypoxic events have catastrophic consequences for marine ecosystems. Similar impacts have recently been observed in tropical coral reef habitats, where both long-term and acute deoxygenation events affect reef organisms. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how oxygen depletion affects different species and life stages of reef-building corals. Here, we tested the impacts of deoxygenation on brooded larvae of <i>Porites astreoides</i> and broadcast-spawned larvae of <i>Diploria labyrinthiformis</i>. Competent larvae were exposed to constant ambient conditions (6.0 mg L^-1), mild deoxygenation (3.5 mg L^-1), or severe deoxygenation (1.5 mg L^-1) during their settlement and early recruitment phase. Percent settlement was quantified after 3 days (72 h) of treatment exposure by counting settled larvae, and recruits were counted again 20 days post-settlement to evaluate early recruit survival. Settlement was significantly higher in <i>D. labyrinthiformis</i> than in <i>P. astreoides,</i> regardless of oxygen treatment, which had no significant effect. Survival did not vary by species or oxygen treatment. The lack of a notable deoxygenation effect contributes to an emerging body of work suggesting that early life-history stages of corals are more resilient to deoxygenation in the bulk water column than adults of the same species. Our study emphasizes the importance of characterizing species-specific life history responses in the context of oxygen depletion to better predict coral reef community responses to the emerging threat of deoxygenation.Data are for tank treatment conditions from discrete measurements (temperature, pHNBS, salinity, dissolved oxygen, light)

  PublisherDOI

• Ha et al._Raw coral settlement data after 72 hr assays under deoxygenation treatments.

  Figshare · 2026-05-08

  datasetOpen access

  Raw data for manuscript submitted to Coral Reefs.Manuscript title: Deoxygenation has limited effects on coral settlement and early recruit survivalAuthors: Jennifer Ha, Ariel Pezner, Cassady Dougan, Reagan Mason, Jennifer Sneed, Alyssa Demko, Andrew H. Altieri, Valerie J. Paul, Maggie D. JohnsonResearch from temperate habitats has shown that deoxygenation and hypoxic events have catastrophic consequences for marine ecosystems. Similar impacts have recently been observed in tropical coral reef habitats, where both long-term and acute deoxygenation events affect reef organisms. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how oxygen depletion affects different species and life stages of reef-building corals. Here, we tested the impacts of deoxygenation on brooded larvae of <i>Porites astreoides</i> and broadcast-spawned larvae of <i>Diploria labyrinthiformis</i>. Competent larvae were exposed to constant ambient conditions (6.0 mg L^-1), mild deoxygenation (3.5 mg L^-1), or severe deoxygenation (1.5 mg L^-1) during their settlement and early recruitment phase. Percent settlement was quantified after 3 days (72 h) of treatment exposure by counting settled larvae, and recruits were counted again 20 days post-settlement to evaluate early recruit survival. Settlement was significantly higher in <i>D. labyrinthiformis</i> than in <i>P. astreoides,</i> regardless of oxygen treatment, which had no significant effect. Survival did not vary by species or oxygen treatment. The lack of a notable deoxygenation effect contributes to an emerging body of work suggesting that early life-history stages of corals are more resilient to deoxygenation in the bulk water column than adults of the same species. Our study emphasizes the importance of characterizing species-specific life history responses in the context of oxygen depletion to better predict coral reef community responses to the emerging threat of deoxygenation.Data are for coral settlement at 72 hr settlement assay under deoxygenation.

  PublisherDOI

• Ha et al._Raw early coral recruit survival data at 20 days post-settlement under deoxygenation treatments.

  Figshare · 2026-05-08

  datasetOpen access

  Raw data for manuscript submitted to Coral Reefs.Manuscript title: Deoxygenation has limited effects on coral settlement and early recruit survivalAuthors: Jennifer Ha, Ariel Pezner, Cassady Dougan, Reagan Mason, Jennifer Sneed, Alyssa Demko, Andrew H. Altieri, Valerie J. Paul, Maggie D. JohnsonResearch from temperate habitats has shown that deoxygenation and hypoxic events have catastrophic consequences for marine ecosystems. Similar impacts have recently been observed in tropical coral reef habitats, where both long-term and acute deoxygenation events affect reef organisms. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how oxygen depletion affects different species and life stages of reef-building corals. Here, we tested the impacts of deoxygenation on brooded larvae of <i>Porites astreoides</i> and broadcast-spawned larvae of <i>Diploria labyrinthiformis</i>. Competent larvae were exposed to constant ambient conditions (6.0 mg L^-1), mild deoxygenation (3.5 mg L^-1), or severe deoxygenation (1.5 mg L^-1) during their settlement and early recruitment phase. Percent settlement was quantified after 3 days (72 h) of treatment exposure by counting settled larvae, and recruits were counted again 20 days post-settlement to evaluate early recruit survival. Settlement was significantly higher in <i>D. labyrinthiformis</i> than in <i>P. astreoides,</i> regardless of oxygen treatment, which had no significant effect. Survival did not vary by species or oxygen treatment. The lack of a notable deoxygenation effect contributes to an emerging body of work suggesting that early life-history stages of corals are more resilient to deoxygenation in the bulk water column than adults of the same species. Our study emphasizes the importance of characterizing species-specific life history responses in the context of oxygen depletion to better predict coral reef community responses to the emerging threat of deoxygenation.Data are for post-settled early recruit survival at 20 days after exposure to treatment conditions.

  PublisherDOI

• Ha et al._Raw coral settlement data after 72 hr assays under deoxygenation treatments (Fig 2a)

  Figshare · 2026-05-08

  datasetOpen access

  Raw data for manuscript submitted to Coral Reefs.Manuscript title: Deoxygenation has limited effects on coral settlement and early recruit survivalAuthors: Jennifer Ha, Ariel Pezner, Cassady Dougan, Reagan Mason, Jennifer Sneed, Alyssa Demko, Andrew H. Altieri, Valerie J. Paul, Maggie D. JohnsonResearch from temperate habitats has shown that deoxygenation and hypoxic events have catastrophic consequences for marine ecosystems. Similar impacts have recently been observed in tropical coral reef habitats, where both long-term and acute deoxygenation events affect reef organisms. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how oxygen depletion affects different species and life stages of reef-building corals. Here, we tested the impacts of deoxygenation on brooded larvae of <i>Porites astreoides</i> and broadcast-spawned larvae of <i>Diploria labyrinthiformis</i>. Competent larvae were exposed to constant ambient conditions (6.0 mg L^-1), mild deoxygenation (3.5 mg L^-1), or severe deoxygenation (1.5 mg L^-1) during their settlement and early recruitment phase. Percent settlement was quantified after 3 days (72 h) of treatment exposure by counting settled larvae, and recruits were counted again 20 days post-settlement to evaluate early recruit survival. Settlement was significantly higher in <i>D. labyrinthiformis</i> than in <i>P. astreoides,</i> regardless of oxygen treatment, which had no significant effect. Survival did not vary by species or oxygen treatment. The lack of a notable deoxygenation effect contributes to an emerging body of work suggesting that early life-history stages of corals are more resilient to deoxygenation in the bulk water column than adults of the same species. Our study emphasizes the importance of characterizing species-specific life history responses in the context of oxygen depletion to better predict coral reef community responses to the emerging threat of deoxygenation.Data are for coral settlement at 72 hr settlement assay under deoxygenation (Figure 2a).

  PublisherDOI

• Ha et al._Raw early coral recruit survival data at 20 days post-settlement under deoxygenation treatments (Fig 1b)

  Figshare · 2026-05-08

  datasetOpen access

  Raw data for manuscript submitted to Coral Reefs.Manuscript title: Deoxygenation has limited effects on coral settlement and early recruit survivalAuthors: Jennifer Ha, Ariel Pezner, Cassady Dougan, Reagan Mason, Jennifer Sneed, Alyssa Demko, Andrew H. Altieri, Valerie J. Paul, Maggie D. JohnsonResearch from temperate habitats has shown that deoxygenation and hypoxic events have catastrophic consequences for marine ecosystems. Similar impacts have recently been observed in tropical coral reef habitats, where both long-term and acute deoxygenation events affect reef organisms. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how oxygen depletion affects different species and life stages of reef-building corals. Here, we tested the impacts of deoxygenation on brooded larvae of <i>Porites astreoides</i> and broadcast-spawned larvae of <i>Diploria labyrinthiformis</i>. Competent larvae were exposed to constant ambient conditions (6.0 mg L^-1), mild deoxygenation (3.5 mg L^-1), or severe deoxygenation (1.5 mg L^-1) during their settlement and early recruitment phase. Percent settlement was quantified after 3 days (72 h) of treatment exposure by counting settled larvae, and recruits were counted again 20 days post-settlement to evaluate early recruit survival. Settlement was significantly higher in <i>D. labyrinthiformis</i> than in <i>P. astreoides,</i> regardless of oxygen treatment, which had no significant effect. Survival did not vary by species or oxygen treatment. The lack of a notable deoxygenation effect contributes to an emerging body of work suggesting that early life-history stages of corals are more resilient to deoxygenation in the bulk water column than adults of the same species. Our study emphasizes the importance of characterizing species-specific life history responses in the context of oxygen depletion to better predict coral reef community responses to the emerging threat of deoxygenation.Data are for post-settled early recruit survival at 20 days after exposure to treatment conditions (Figure 1b).

  PublisherDOI

• Ha et al._Raw early coral recruit survival data at 20 days post-settlement under deoxygenation treatments (Fig 2b)

  Figshare · 2026-05-08

  datasetOpen access

  Raw data for manuscript submitted to Coral Reefs.Manuscript title: Deoxygenation has limited effects on coral settlement and early recruit survivalAuthors: Jennifer Ha, Ariel Pezner, Cassady Dougan, Reagan Mason, Jennifer Sneed, Alyssa Demko, Andrew H. Altieri, Valerie J. Paul, Maggie D. JohnsonResearch from temperate habitats has shown that deoxygenation and hypoxic events have catastrophic consequences for marine ecosystems. Similar impacts have recently been observed in tropical coral reef habitats, where both long-term and acute deoxygenation events affect reef organisms. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how oxygen depletion affects different species and life stages of reef-building corals. Here, we tested the impacts of deoxygenation on brooded larvae of <i>Porites astreoides</i> and broadcast-spawned larvae of <i>Diploria labyrinthiformis</i>. Competent larvae were exposed to constant ambient conditions (6.0 mg L^-1), mild deoxygenation (3.5 mg L^-1), or severe deoxygenation (1.5 mg L^-1) during their settlement and early recruitment phase. Percent settlement was quantified after 3 days (72 h) of treatment exposure by counting settled larvae, and recruits were counted again 20 days post-settlement to evaluate early recruit survival. Settlement was significantly higher in <i>D. labyrinthiformis</i> than in <i>P. astreoides,</i> regardless of oxygen treatment, which had no significant effect. Survival did not vary by species or oxygen treatment. The lack of a notable deoxygenation effect contributes to an emerging body of work suggesting that early life-history stages of corals are more resilient to deoxygenation in the bulk water column than adults of the same species. Our study emphasizes the importance of characterizing species-specific life history responses in the context of oxygen depletion to better predict coral reef community responses to the emerging threat of deoxygenation.Data are for post-settled early recruit survival at 20 days after exposure to treatment conditions (Figure 2b).

  PublisherDOI

• Experimental tests of snail grazing on turtle grass, Thalassia testudinum: evidence of resilience in short-term plant function to scarring of live tissues

  Research Square · 2026-04-29

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Sediment addition at the saltmarsh–mangrove ecotone shifts species dominance with implications for restoration

  Journal of Applied Ecology · 2026-02-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Community responses to restoration are notoriously difficult to predict, and intensifying global pressures (e.g. sea level rise, species range shifts) amplify this challenge. Subtropical communities, which are already responding rapidly to multiple stressors, provide an ideal context for exploring restoration responses under evolving ecological conditions. To investigate how restorative sediment amendments that address sea level rise vulnerability influence alternative plant communities in the subtropics, we manipulated sediment thickness (+0 cm, +15 cm or +30 cm) and sediment composition (1%‐silt or 10%‐silt) in plots initially dominated by smooth cordgrass ( Spartina alterniflora ) or black mangroves ( Avicennia germinans ) in a 26‐month field experiment on Florida's north‐eastern coast. We show that sediment thickness shapes ecological recovery timelines with both plant biomass and invertebrate abundance recovering faster from +15 cm than +30 cm additions, but saw little effect of sediment composition on outcomes within the 26‐month period. Cordgrass and mangroves were not equally tolerant of burial: cordgrass biomass in sediment addition plots recovered to or doubled control‐level biomass by the end of the study while mangrove biomass remained less than half that of reference levels post‐burial. Resultantly, initial mangrove dominance was minimized or reversed by sediment addition. However, establishment of new mangrove propagules was four to six times higher in sediment addition plots than controls, suggesting that elevational increases could nullify initial mangrove biomass loss by facilitating the longer term conversion to mangrove forest. Mobile invertebrates, especially burrowing crabs, recovered from burial by the end of the study, but sessile ribbed mussels failed to re‐establish in sediment addition plots. Sediment addition alleviated salinity stress but had little effect on sulphide concentration between treatments. While plants and invertebrates returned, soil properties in sediment addition plots differed starkly from controls at the final time point, indicating that these remain altered well beyond 26 months but do not necessarily limit community recovery. Synthesis and applications . Our results reveal that emerging ecological communities may tolerate and benefit from restoration similar to better studied temperate systems. However, we show that community composition in these habitats may shift and develop along different trajectories in response to restoration interventions, with implications for managers targeting specific post‐restoration outcomes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog .

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ha et al._Tank light levels (Table 1)

  Figshare · 2026-05-08

  datasetOpen access

  Raw data for manuscript submitted to Coral Reefs.Manuscript title: Deoxygenation has limited effects on coral settlement and early recruit survivalAuthors: Jennifer Ha, Ariel Pezner, Cassady Dougan, Reagan Mason, Jennifer Sneed, Alyssa Demko, Andrew H. Altieri, Valerie J. Paul, Maggie D. JohnsonResearch from temperate habitats has shown that deoxygenation and hypoxic events have catastrophic consequences for marine ecosystems. Similar impacts have recently been observed in tropical coral reef habitats, where both long-term and acute deoxygenation events affect reef organisms. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how oxygen depletion affects different species and life stages of reef-building corals. Here, we tested the impacts of deoxygenation on brooded larvae of <i>Porites astreoides</i> and broadcast-spawned larvae of <i>Diploria labyrinthiformis</i>. Competent larvae were exposed to constant ambient conditions (6.0 mg L^-1), mild deoxygenation (3.5 mg L^-1), or severe deoxygenation (1.5 mg L^-1) during their settlement and early recruitment phase. Percent settlement was quantified after 3 days (72 h) of treatment exposure by counting settled larvae, and recruits were counted again 20 days post-settlement to evaluate early recruit survival. Settlement was significantly higher in <i>D. labyrinthiformis</i> than in <i>P. astreoides,</i> regardless of oxygen treatment, which had no significant effect. Survival did not vary by species or oxygen treatment. The lack of a notable deoxygenation effect contributes to an emerging body of work suggesting that early life-history stages of corals are more resilient to deoxygenation in the bulk water column than adults of the same species. Our study emphasizes the importance of characterizing species-specific life history responses in the context of oxygen depletion to better predict coral reef community responses to the emerging threat of deoxygenation.Data are for treatment tank light levels (Table 1).

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Biodiversity and resilience of corals and their microbiomes in response to ocean deoxygenation

  NSF · $873k · 2021–2025

• CAREER: Life after death in coral reefs: Testing the pivotal role of dead corals in ecosystem resilience

  NSF · $823k · 2023–2028

Frequent coauthors

• Brian R. Silliman

  Duke University

  94 shared

• Mads S. Thomsen

  University of Canterbury

  73 shared

• Thomas Wernberg

  Norwegian Institute of Marine Research

  67 shared

• Karen J. McGlathery

  University of Virginia

  64 shared

• Dana Gulbransen

  University of Virginia

  64 shared

• Fernando Tuya

  Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

  64 shared

• Marianne Holmer

  University of Southern Denmark

  64 shared

• Mark D. Bertness

  Brown University

  52 shared

Education

• B.A.

  UC Santa Cruz

• Ph.D.

  Brown University

• Other

  Northeastern University

• Other

  Brown University

Awards & honors

• National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Award 2023