My research efforts are primarily directed towards the management of aquatic ecosystems - with a particular emphasis on managing freshwater fish populations in New York lake and river systems. These efforts involve large-scale and small-scale experimental manipulations, as well as taking advantage of natural experiments that can help identify key ecosystem processes. The overall goal of my research program is to understand processes regulating the abundance of aquatic organisms, focusing largely upon sport fish and nuisance invaders. My research efforts have been designed to either identify ways to manage the abundance of these organisms or to understand factors that limit our capacity for their management.
Descriptions of the following research projects conducted within my lab group can be found in the "Current Research" and "Recently Completed Research" links provided below:
Evaluating the Effects of Environment and Stressors on Thiaminase Expression in Alewife (Graduate Student: Jesse Lepak)
Effects of Old-growth Riparian Forests on Adirondack Stream Systems (Collaborator: William Keeton, University of Vermont)
Implementing a Topographic Index Approach to Identify Locations of Groundwater Input Along Adirondack Lake Shorelines (Graduate Student: Peter Stevens)
Restoration of Round Whitefish in Adirondack lakes (Former Post-Doctoral Associate: Geoff Steinhart)
Fish Community Response to Removal of Naturalized Smallmouth Bass in an Oligotrophic Adirondack Lake (Former Graduate Student: Brian Weidel)
Stable Isotope Measurements as Indicators of Diet Shifts in a Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) Population in an Oligotrophic Adirondack Lake (Graduate Student: Jesse Lepak)
Ice Storm Impacts and Woody Debris Removal in Adirondack Tributary Streams: Biotic Responses and Changes in Physical Habitat (Graduate Student: Dana Warren)
Physical Influences of Landscape on a Large-extent Ecological Disturbance: The 1998 Ice Storm (Former Post-Doctoral Associate: Andrew Millward)
Gastric Evacuation and Daily Ration of Naturally Produced Age-0 Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Lake Ontario (Former Graduate Student: Nick Principe)
Distribution and Abundance of Wild Trout in the BeaverKill/Willowemoc Watershed (Former Graduate Student: Tamara Smith)
Landscape Patterns of Zebra Mussel Inland Lake Invasions: Evaluating Dispersal from Spatial Distributions
Spatial Constraint of Peatland Butterfly Occurrences Within a Heterogeneous Landscape
Description of Spatial Pattern of Large Woody Debris and Debris Dams in Streams Using Neighbor K Statistics
Regional Differences in Rates and Patterns of North American Inland Lake Invasions by Zebra Mussels
Prediction of Long-Distance Dispersal Using Gravity Models: Zebra Mussel Invasion of Inland Lakes