Education

2005 Florida State University, B.S.
2012 University of South Florida, Ph.D.

Courses Taught

Invertebrate Zoology
Marine Invertebrate Zoology
Coral Reefs
Global Sustainability

Career Specialties

Michael Middlebrooks is an invertebrate zoologist who specializes in the ecology and natural history of sea slugs. His research is primarily focused on photosynthetic sacoglossan sea slugs in Florida and the Caribbean. These slugs steal chloroplasts from their algal food which they then use to photosynthesize and make their own energy in a phenomenon called kleptoplasty. Watch Middlebrooks’ TED Talk on solar-powered sea slugs.

Middlebrooks also researches seagrass ecology and restoration in Tampa Bay with a focus on macroinvertebrate communities living in seagrass beds.

Professional and Community Activities

Middlebrooks is a member of the American Malacological Society, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Florida United Malacologists, Florida Association of Aquatic Biologists, and is on the board for the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean and the Global Invertebrate Genomic Alliance.

Honors and Awards

Office of Sponsored Programs, Research Grant Award, 2022-2023
Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award, 2021-2022
College of Natural and Health Sciences, Outstanding Student Research Supervision Award, 2016-2017