Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory

Angela Collins

Assistant Extension Scientist

Angela Collins joined the University of Florida IFAS School of Forestry, Fisheries, and Geomatic Sciences and the UF/IFAS Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory in 2023 as an Assistant Extension Scientist. Her research and extension programs focus on Florida’s marine fisheries and bivalve shellfish aquaculture industries. Angela works primarily with recreational anglers, commercial seafood producers, and bivalve shellfish growers to encourage science that will benefit coastal economies and environments and promote best practices that will support local sustainable fisheries. In addition to engaging directly with industry, she coordinates with agencies, non-profit organizations, and other academic partners to promote cooperative research that serves Florida’s fisheries stakeholders. She currently serves as a marine fisheries and shellfish aquaculture specialist for Florida Sea Grant and is an active member of their Fisheries and Aquaculture Work Action Groups. Current research and extension interests include barotrauma mitigation for reef fishes, ecosystem services of shellfish aquaculture, local seafood production, and promotion of working waterfronts.

Prior to arriving at TAL, she was based in Manatee County as a Florida Sea Grant Agent with UF/IFAS Extension. She also spent over a decade as a marine fisheries biologist with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where she specialized in cooperative research with divers and anglers to collect data about reef fish including hogfish, Goliath grouper and Gag grouper. She spent time early in her career as a science diver with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, as an aquarist with Walt Disney World, and as a biologist studying cownose rays with Mote Marine Laboratory.

Angela with clams

Angela outside

CONTACT

UF/IFAS Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory
1408 24th Street SE
Ruskin, FL 33570
abcollins@ufl.edu
813-671-5230 x115

Google Scholar Profile

Education

Ph.D., Integrative Biology, 2014, University of South Florida

M.S., Biology, 2005, University of South Florida

B.S., Marine Biology, 1999, Florida Atlantic University

Current Students

Clark Morgan - Ph.D. Student (Committee Member)

Jose Ordonez Montoya - M.S. Student (Committee Member)

Former Students

Fred Shopnitz - M.S. Student (2020) (Committee Member)

Meaghan Emory - M.S. Student (2019) (Committee Member)

Ian Towne - M.S. Student (2018) (Committee Member)

Selected Research Publications

For the most recent publications, please visit Angela's Google Scholar Profile.

Collins, A.B., B. Fluech, Z.A. Siders, M. Sipos, and A. Zangroniz. 2025. Diving for data: Florida Sea Grant's great goliath grouper count. Oceanography 37(1).
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Kaczor, K. R.A.A. Alegado, K. Hintzen, L. Ching, M. Lieberman, S. Chang, E. Nakano, A. Sy, D. Horio, K. Tam, V.R. Nerurkar, A. Smyth, A. Collins, K. Fallon, F. Focazio, and S. Kreisler. 2024. Rising together in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Oceanography 37(1):12-18.
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Carroll, J.L., R.D. Ellis, A.B. Collins, and D.J. Murie. 2023. Dorsal fin spines and rays as non-lethal ageing structures for Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara. Fishes 8:239.
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Shopnitz, F.A., C.L. Ohs, E. Silvy, J. Broach, M.A. DiMaggio, J. Patterson, and A. Collins. 2022. Evaluation of anesthesia protocols for handling Hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus using tricaine methanesulfonate and AQUI-S 20E®. North American Journal of Aquaculture 84:304–312.
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Towne, I.A., P.T. Arena, A.B. Collins, and D.W. Kerstetter. 2021. Habitat specific tradeoffs in growth and survival by Hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus in southeast Florida. Bulletin of Marine Science 97(3):427–440.
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Friess, C., S. Lowerre-Barbieri, G.R. Poulakis, N. Hammerschlag, J.M. Gardiner, A.M. Kroetz, K. Bassos-Hull, J. Bickford, E.C. Bohaboy, R.D. Ellis, H. Menendez, W.F. Patterson III, M.E. Price, J.S. Rehage, C.P. Shea, M.J. Smukall, S. Walters-Burnsed, K.A. Wilkinson, J. Young, A.B. Collins, +17 others. 2021. Regional scale variability in the movement ecology of marine fishes revealed by an integrative acoustic tracking network. Marine Ecology Progress Series 663:157–177.
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Kendall, M.S., B.L. Williams, R.D. Ellis, K.E. Flaherty-Walia, A.B. Collins, and K.W. Roberson. 2020. Measuring and understanding receiver efficiency in your acoustic telemetry array. Fisheries Research 234:105802.
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Ellis, R.D., K.E. Flaherty-Walia, A.B. Collins, J.W. Bickford, R. Boucek, S.L. Walters Burnsed, and S. K. Lowerre-Barbieri. 2019. Acoustic telemetry array evolution: from species- and project-specific designs to large-scale, multispecies, cooperative networks. Fisheries Research 209:186–195.
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Pratt, H.L. Jr., T.C. Pratt, D. Morley, S. Lowerre-Barbieri, A.B. Collins, J.C. Carrier, K.M. Hart, and N.M. Whitney. 2018. Partial migration of the Nurse Shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum (Bonnaterre), from the Dry Tortugas Islands. Environmental Biology of Fishes 101:515–530.
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Collins, A.B. and P.J. Motta. 2016. A kinematic investigation into the feeding behavior of the Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara. Environmental Biology of Fishes 100:309-323.
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Collins, A.B., L.R. Barbieri, R.S. McBride, E.D. McCoy, and P.J. Motta. 2015. Reef relief and volume are predictors of Atlantic Goliath Grouper presence and abundance in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Bulletin of Marine Science 91:399–418.
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Seyoum, S., A.B. Collins, C. Puchulutegui, R.S. McBride, and M.D. Tringali. 2015. Genetically determined population structure of Hogfish (Labridae: Lachnolaimus maximus) in the southeastern United States. Fishery Bulletin 113(4): 442–455.
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Collins, A.B., and R.S. McBride. 2015. Variations in reproductive potential between nearshore and offshore spawning contingents of Hogfish in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Fisheries Management and Ecology 22:113-124.
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Simmons, C.M., A.B. Collins, and R. Ruzicka. 2014. Distribution and diversity of coral habitat, fishes, and associated fisheries in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico, in Interrelationships Between Corals and Fisheries, S. Bortone, ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 3:19-37.
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Collins, A.B. 2014. An investigation into the habitat, behavior and opportunistic feeding strategies of the protected Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara. PhD Dissertation, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
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Seyoum, S., M.D. Tringali, B.L. Barthel, C. Puchulutegui, M.C. Davis, A.B. Collins, and M.T. Craig. 2013. Isolation and characterization of 29 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the endangered Atlantic Goliath Grouper (Epinephelus itajara), and the Pacific Goliath Grouper (E. quinquefasciatus). Conservation Genetics Resources 5:729-732.
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Seyoum, S., M.D. Tringali, B.L. Barthel, C. Puchulutegui, M.C. Davis, A.B. Collins, and R.S. McBride. 2012. Twenty-nine polymorphic microsatellite loci for the genetic management of captive-bred Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus) and assessments of globally declining natural populations. Molecular Ecology Resources 12(4):779-781.
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Collins, A.B., and R.S. McBride. 2011. Demographics by depth: spatially-explicit life history dynamics of a protogynous reef fish. Fishery Bulletin 109(2):232-242.
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Heupel, M.R., B.G. Yeiser, A.B. Collins, L. Ortega, and C.A. Simpfendorfer. 2010. Long-term presence and movement patterns of juvenile Bull Sharks in an estuarine river system. Marine and Freshwater Research. 61(1):1-10.
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Collins, A.B. 2009. A preliminary assessment of the abundance and size distribution of Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara within a defined region of the central eastern Gulf of Mexico. Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 61:184-190.
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Collins, A.B., M.R. Heupel, and C.A. Simpfendorfer. 2008. Spatial distribution and long-term movement patterns of Cownose Rays Rhinoptera bonasus within an estuarine river. Estuaries and Coasts 31:1174-1183.
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Simpfendorfer, C.A., M.R. Heupel, and A.B. Collins. 2008. Variation in the performance of acoustic receivers and its implication for positioning algorithms in a riverine setting. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 65(3):482-492.
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Collins, A.B., M.R. Heupel, and P.J. Motta. 2007. Residence and movement patterns of Cownose Rays Rhinoptera bonasus within a southwest Florida estuary. Journal of Fish Biology 71(4):1159-1178.
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Collins, A.B., M.R. Heupel, R.E. Hueter, and P.J. Motta. 2007. Hard prey specialists or opportunistic generalists? An examination of the diet of the Cownose Ray Rhinoptera bonasus. Marine and Freshwater Research, 58(1):135-144.
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Heupel, M.R., C.A. Simpfendorfer, A.B. Collins, and J.P. Tyminski. 2006. Residency and movement patterns of Bonnethead Sharks, Sphyrna tiburo, in a large Florida estuary. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 76:47-67.
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Selected Extension Publications

For most recent publications please visit Angela's Google Scholar Profile.

Donnelly, H., A. Smyth, S. Baker, L. Reynolds, and A.B. Collins. 2023. How do oysters remove nitrogen? University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication SL498.
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Love, G., A. Braswell, A.B. Collins, and E.V. Camp. 2022. How oyster reefs can affect finfish recruitment. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA250.
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Camp, E.V., L. Chong, A.B. Collins, H. Abeels, K. Mille, M. Sipos, B. Hall-Scharf, A. Zangroniz, S. Jackson, S. Krueger, and V. Blanco. 2022. An update on Florida’s artificial reefs: recent research and what it means for Florida. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA245.
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Love, G., A. Braswell, A.B. Collins, and E.V. Camp. 2022. Ecological influences on coastal finfish recruitment. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA239.
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Chong, L., A.B. Collins, H. Abeels, A. Braswell, A. Ropicki, and E.V. Camp. 2022. Artificial reefs in Florida 101–effects on fisheries--Part 4 of an artificial reef series. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA244.
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Chong, L., A.B. Collins, H. Abeels, A. Braswell, A. Zangroniz, A. Ropicki, S. Jackson, and E.V. Camp. 2022. Artificial reefs in Florida 101–effects on fishers (and divers)ppPart 3 of an artificial reef series. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA243.
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Chong, L., A.B. Collins, H. Abeels, A. Braswell, A. Ropicki, and E.V. Camp. 2022. Artificial reefs in Florida 101-effects on fish--Part 2 of an artificial reef series. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA240.
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Chong, L., A.B. Collins, H. Abeels, A. Braswell, A. Ropicki, and E.V. Camp. 2021. Artificial reefs in Florida 101–why are they built? Part 1 of an artificial reef series. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FOR379.
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Camp, E.V., L. Chong, A.B. Collins, M. Sipos, K. Mille, B. Hall-Scharf, S. Jackson, H. Abeels, S. Krueger, and V. Blanco. 2021. An update on Florida’s artificial reefs: recent deployments and trends. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA242.
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Fisch, N., A.B. Collins, and E.V. Camp. 2021. What is stock assessment? University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA232.
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Camp, E.V., K. Lorenzen, R.N.M. Ahrens, and A.B. Collins. 2020. Fish population recruitment 2: Stock-recruit relationships and why they matter for stock assessments. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA234.
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Camp, E.V., R.N.M. Ahrens, A.B. Collins, and K. Lorenzen. 2020. Fish population recruitment 1: What recruitment means and why it matters. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication FA222.
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Staugler, B., H. Abeels, A.B. Collins, S. Krueger, and K. Lorenzen. 2018. Barotrauma and successful release of fish caught in deep water. University of Florida/IFAS EDIS Publication ED-1.
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