College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Education:

• Ph.D. - Natural Resources and Aquatic Sciences, University of Michigan, 2009
• M.S. - Biology, University of Michigan, 2001
• B.S. - Biology and Anthropology, Eckerd College, 1999

Background:

My interest in fishes stems from watching the movie Jaws at the age of 4.  While not the smartest move on my part, my fascination with fish lead me to take an Ecology of Fishes class while working on my non-thesis Biology Masters at the University of Michigan.  At the time, I was working in a laboratory on cancer genetics, but I enjoyed the fish class so much, I continued taking fish courses and spent my summers in Northern Michigan sampling fishes in Lake Huron coastal marshes.   For my dissertation, I spent spring-fall sampling fishes, macroinvertebrates and water (nutrient chemistry) on the Muskegon River and its tributaries.  My advisor recommended including a modeling chapter to my dissertation and me new life in modeling began.

Since graduation, I worked at Purdue University on the Saginaw Bay Multistressor project.  Here I developed IBMs and models, analyzed and managed large fisheries data sets, taught Systematics and Ecology of Fishes and Mammals to undergraduates, and supervised undergraduate researchers and research technicians.

Research:

My primary research interests are fish population dynamics, fish recruitment, and anthropogenic stressors on aquatic ecosystems.  My past research has included:

• Using mesocosm experiments and a cohort-based model to study the impact of adfluvial fishes on a Great Lakes tributary, including nutrient chemistry, macroinvertebrates and resident fish abundance, growth and diet

• Using in situ egg incubators and mats to determine the survivorship of walleye eggs in the Muskegon River

• Using an IBM to predict walleye and yellow perch responses to climate change, nutrient loads and dreissenid mussels in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron

• Using multivariate statistics to analyze long-term trawl surveys to elucidate dynamics of walleye and perch, fish community dynamics, and yellow perch recruitment in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron

• Using a laboratory experiment to estimate the impact of fish strain, size and feeding type on yellow perch fecundity and egg size

• Using a multispecies IBM to predict the likelihood of Asian carp establishment, and the impacts on fishes if carp were to establish, in lakes, Michigan, Erie, and Huron

At the QFC, my primary responsibility will be to develop an agent-based model to simulate vaccination fish in Lake Michigan against viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV).