Ralph Turingan, Ph.D.
Professor | Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences | Florida Tech
Melbourne, FL, UNITED STATES
Dr. Turingan's research is on the ecology and evolution of organismal design in vertebrates.
Areas of Expertise (5)
Aquaculture
Fish Biology
Biomechanics
Physiological Ecology
Marine Biology
About
Dr. Ralph Turingan earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of the Philippines, a master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and a doctoral degree from the University of Puerto Rico. He had post-doctoral training at Florida State University. He has been on the Florida Tech faculty since 1995.
His research on the ecology and evolution of organismal design in vertebrates uses the fish-feeding system as a model with the goal of elucidating the roles of ecological and evolutionary processes in explaining organismal diversity.
Dr. Turingan is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholar award. Under his first Fulbright grant, he led a marine fish biology course in the Philippines at the University of the Philippines in Visayas, Iloilo City. His second Fulbright award was in recognition of his continuing collaboration with international scientists working in the Philippines.
He has conducted ecophysiological research on coral-reef fishes in the lesser known but critical waters between the Philippines and Taiwan.
Dr. Turingan is also director of the Aquaculture Laboratories at Florida Tech.
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Media Appearances (4)
FIT researchers find signature for invasive fish species
Hometown News Brevard print
2022-03-17
The research was a collaboration between four Florida Tech research groups including Munevver Subasi in mathematics, Ralph Turingan in marine biology and Eric Guisbert and Dave Carroll from biological sciences.
Commercial Fishing Faces A Crisis in Florida
CGTN America tv
2021-09-01
Florida brands itself as “The Fishing Capital of The World.” But in some areas, the “Sunshine State” is starting to see a depletion of its fish.
Algae's toxin remains in dolphins livers, even when not blooming
Florida Today print
2020-02-20
In collaboration with professors Toufiq Reza and Ralph Turingan, (Spencer) Fire has submitted a federal grant proposal to study a way to remove saxitoxins and the algae that produces it from the water.
No fish story! Research finds marine reserves sustain broader fishing efforts
ScienceDaily radio
2018-03-06
In their examination of marine reserves, also known as marine protected areas or MPAs, around coral reefs in the Philippines, Robert Fidler, a Fulbright scholar who recently received his Ph.D. from Florida Institute of Technology, and his major professor, Fulbright faculty scholar Ralph Turingan, found evidence that MPAs in fact helped to produce and maintain the more desirable large-bodied and older fish within populations that have been fished by local fishermen for centuries.
Education (3)
University of Puerto Rico: Ph.D.
University of Rhode Island: M.S.
University of the Philippines: B.S.
Magna Cum Laude
Links (4)
Selected Articles (5)
Stress response gene family expansions correlate with invasive potential in teleost fish
Journal of Experimental Biology2022
Temperature-induced physiological stress and reproductive characteristics of the migratory seahorse Hippocampus erectus during a thermal stress simulation
Biology Open2018
A spatiotemporal comparison of length-at-age in the coral reef fish Acanthurus nigrofuscus between marine reserves and fished reefs
PloS one2020
Coral reef fishes exhibit beneficial phenotypes inside marine protected areas
PloS one2018
Reef-wide beneficial shifts in fish population structure following establishment of marine protected areas in Philippine coral reefs
Marine Ecology Progress Series 5702017
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