The ecological underpinnings of effective conservation, restoration, and fisheries management forms the core of my research activities. What are the outcomes of our management actions? Are the effects strong or weak, short or long-lasting? Do our management interventions have unexpected outcomes? The answers to these questions help us to decide what types of management actions to take, and when and where to take them. Through my research, I attempt to further our understanding of ecological dynamics in order to more effectively diagnose the underlying causes of conditions demanding conservation and management interventions, as well as the types of actions to take and contexts likely to impact their effectiveness.
Much of my ecological research falls within the realm of behavioral ecology. Behavioral responses are among the most rapid and flexible responses that aquatic organisms have to changing environmental conditions. Fish behavior is often both targeted by and influences the outcome of conservation and management actions. For example, the addition of habitat patches to attract exploited species is a management action with an outcome dependent on the behavior of target species and the ecological conditions that shape their behaviors. Ecological patterns resulting from fish behavior is a particular interest of mine, especially space use, biological invasions, and recruitment dynamics.
I currently have four general areas of active research:
Biological Invasions
Ecosystem impacts and assessment metrics
Reproductive success and recruitment
Monitoring and early detection
Dispersal and spread
Long-term dynamics
Novel predator-prey interactions
Aquatic landscape structure and ecological processes
Behavioral and productivity responses to habitat enhancements/additions
Functional connectivity
Environmental gradients and fish space use and performance
Fishery exploitation dynamics
Harvest regulations
Spatial patterns fishing effort
Stakeholder perception dynamics following management interventions
Urban and rural fishery dynamics
Ecology of early life stages
Behaviors and environmental factors shaping performance of early life stages
Foraging behavior juvenile black carp
Non-native ichthyoplankton dynamics
Centrarchid recruitment
