Meet Daniel Huber
Chair/Professor, Environmental Studies
Phone: (813) 257-3995
Email: dhuber@ut.edu
Address: 401 W. Kennedy Blvd. Tampa, FL 33606
Mailbox: 106F
Building:
TECH
Room: 473C
Education
2000 Duke University, B.S.2006 University of South Florida, Ph.D.
Courses Taught
Biological ScienceEnvironmental Science
Biological Diversity
Biological Unity
Ecosystems and Ecophysiology
Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
Senior Seminar
Career Specialties
Daniel Huber specializes in studying the biomechanics of feeding and locomotion in cartilaginous fishes (chondrichthyans: sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras). Through the use of biomechanical modeling, force measurements, material science, CT scan reconstruction and FInite Element Analysis, he works on comparative analyses of the diverse feeding mechanisms found in these fishes to infer the mechanical influences involved in their function and evolution. Using these same techniques he also investigates the mechanical basis of spinal deformities in captive sharks in an effort to improve captive animal health and reduce dependence on wild populations for aquarium exhibits.Huber and his colleagues are the first to have successfully measured voluntary bite force in free-swimming sharks, which provide a glimpse at the behavioral basis of evolutionary diversification in chondrichthyan feeding mechanisms. His research is conducted at The University of Tampa and University of South Florida.