Lamb Marine Lab research conducted from the UF/IFAS Nature Coast Biological Station, focuses on the transitional ecosystems where mangrove and salt marsh habitats converge. Research in this area explores how climate-driven shifts in coastal vegetation affect local marine life and food webs.

• Mangrove Expansion Impacts: The lab investigates the poleward expansion of mangroves into areas historically dominated by salt marshes, a major climate change impact in the region.
• Blue Crab Recruitment: A specific project examines how these changing habitats influence the early life stages and recruitment patterns of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), a commercially and ecologically important species.
• Habitat Use and Food Webs: Researchers use methods like passive larval collectors and stable isotope analysis to understand how juvenile crabs use different habitat types and assimilate nutrients in these dynamic ecotones.
• Coastal Food Webs: The overall goal is to understand how these vegetation shifts alter coastal food webs and the function of these important nursery habitats.