Peter Buston

Peter Buston is an Associate Professor of Biology and Director of the BU Marine Program at Boston University. He holds a PhD from Cornell University (2002). His research focuses on marine evolutionary ecology, specifically population connectivity and social evolution in marine organisms. Key projects include analyzing larval dispersal in coral reef fish and investigating non-breeding strategies in clownfish and emerald gobies. His work combines field studies, molecular genetics, and mathematical modeling.

Research Interests:

• Behavioral Ecology: Social evolution, cooperative breeding, and conflict resolution in marine fish societies.
• Population Ecology: Larval dispersal patterns and marine reserve design implications.
• Evolutionary Biology: Size hierarchies, reproductive strategies, and life history trade-offs.

Articles Trends: Recent studies emphasize parental care plasticity, larval behavior influences on connectivity, and the role of punishment in stabilizing social queues. Work spans clownfish, damselfish, and goby species, with applications to conservation biology and marine ecosystem management.

Collaborations: International networks include collaborators on larval genetics and biophysical modeling. The Buston Lab welcomes students/postdocs for fieldwork and data reuse projects.

Labs/Teams: The Marine Evolutionary Ecology Lab at BU investigates frontier questions in marine behavioral, population, and evolutionary biology.