Jacqueline F. Webb

Research

Development and Evolution of Fish Sensory Systems, especially the Mechanosensory Lateral Line System; Functional Morphology; Evolutionary Developmental Biology; Ichthyology and Fish Biology

Education

Ph.D., Boston University (Marine Program) (1988)
B.S., Biological Sciences, Cornell University (1979)

Selected Publications

  • Aggarwal I, Webb JF, Onck P, Kottapalli A. 2026. Functional significance of morphological variation in the lateral line system of fishes and its biomimetic
    potential. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sciences USA, IN PRESS.
  • Marranzino, AN and Webb JF. 2025. Photophores in stomiiform fishes:
    Morphology, distribution and putative behavioral roles. In press. Biol. Bull. 247
    (2-3): 101-117.     https://doi.org/10.1086/738399.
  • Jones, AE, O’Donnell, M, Regish, A, and Webb, JF. 2025. Salmonid sensory
    system development is affected by climate change driven temperature
    increases. Scientific Reports.     https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99784-1
  • Chaumel, J, Wainwright, DK, Webb, JF, White, CF, Lauder, GV. 2025. The
    tuna keel is a mechanosensory structure. iScience 28, 111578.
  • Jones, AE, Rizzato, PP, and Webb, JF. 2024b. Development of the cranial
    lateral line system of Brook Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis (Teleostei:     Salmonidae): Evolutionary and ecological implications. Journal of Morphology, 285: e21754. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.21754
  • Jones, AE, Maia, A, Conway, KW, and Webb, JF. 2024a. The Silverjaw Minnow, Ericymba buccata: An extraordinary lateral line system and its contribution to prey detection. Integrative and Comparative Biology. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icae111
  • ebb, JF. 2023. Structural and functional evolution of the mechanosensory lateral line system of fishes. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 154(6): 3526-3542. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0022565 (Invited Research Retrospective)
  •  Hu Y, Majoris JE, Buston PM, Webb, JF. 2022. Ear development in select coral reef fishes: Clues for the role of hearing in larval orientation behavior? Ichthyology and Herpetology. 110: 759-775. 2022 Best Paper in Ichthyology (Young Investigator) in Ichthyology and Herpetology
  • Majoris, J.E., Foretich, M.A., Hu, Y., Nickles, KR, Di Persia CL, Chaput R, Webb JF, Paris CB, Buston, PM. 2021. An integrative investigation of sensory organ development and orientation behavior throughout the larval phase of a coral reef fish. Scientific Reports 11, 12377
  • Webb, JF, Maruska KP, Butler JM, Schwalbe MAB. 2021. The lateral line system of cichlid fishes: Anatomy to behavior. In: Abate ME & Noakes DLG (Eds.). The Behavior, Ecology and Evolution of Cichlid Fishes: A Contemporary Modern Synthesis. Springer Academic.
  • Nickles KR, Hu Y, Majoris JE, Buston, PM and Webb JF. 2020. Organization and ontogeny of a complex lateral line system in a goby (Elacatinus lori), with a consideration of function and ecology. Copeia 108(4): 863–885. Awarded 2020 Best Paper in Ichthyology in Copeia.
  • Webb, J.F., 2020. Morphology of the Mechanosensory Lateral Line System of Fishes. In: Fritzsch, B. (Ed.) and Bleckmann, H. (Vol. Ed.), The Senses: A Comprehensive Reference, vol. 7. Elsevier, pp. 29–46.
  • Hu Y, Majoris JE, Buston PM, Webb, JF. 2018. Potential roles of olfaction and taste in the orientation behavior of coral reef fish larvae: Insights from morphology. J. Fish Biol. – Special Issue on Sensory Ecology of Fishes. 95: 311–323.
  • Conith, MR, Hu, Y, Conith, AJ, Maginnis MA, Webb, JF and Albertson, RC. 2018. Genetic and developmental origins of a unique foraging adaptation in a Lake Malawi cichlid genus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (27) 7063-7068.
  • Marranzino, AN and Webb, JF. 2018. Flow sensing in the deep sea: The mechanosensory lateral line system of stomiiform fishes. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 183: 945- 956.
  • Webb JF and Ramsay J. 2017. New interpretation of the 3-D configuration of lateral line scales and the lateral line canal contained within them. Copeia 105 (2): 339-347. Awarded 2017 Best Paper in Ichthyology in Copeia.

Courses

Bio 360 Marine Biology
Bio 412/512 Evolution and Diversity of Fishes
Bio 593 Sensory Biology
Bio 594 Fish Development

Awards

Joseph S. Nelson Award for Lifetime Achievement in Ichthyology, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists – 2025
Robert K. Johnson Award for Excellence in Service, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists – 2024
URI Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching - 2024
Research Excellence Award, URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences - 2020