About me
My research interests broadly focus on movement ecology and habitat use of fishes, and how that information can be used to assess and manage populations. I am also interested in understanding the thermal ecology of fishes across different systems and how that relates to future habitat availability under a changing climate. I often use telemetry (acoustic or radio) to address research questions, but integrate that technique with various other laboratory and field-based methods in fisheries science, including hydroacoustics, age and growth analysis, and conventional tagging. Through my research, I aim to directly address issues of importance to fisheries managers in the region.
Projects
Walleye in the Tennessee River - We will be using acoustic telemetry to track adult walleye in Watts Bar Reservoir. Through this project we will answer questions about movements, habitat use, and spawning site fidelity. Graduate Student: Brittnany Graham
Alligator gar in western Tennessee tributaries - We are working with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop methods to investigate post-stocking survival and dispersal of alligator gar. We plan to scale this work up to using acoustic telemetry to address questions about alligator gar survival and dispersal that can be used to inform restoration programs for the species in Tennessee and throughout the Mississippi River basin.
Citico Creek Dam Removal - Dr. Engman and I are collaborating with Dr. Anna Marshall in the Geography and Sustainability Department to study how different species of fish recolonize newly available river reaches after dam removals. We are using a combination of PIT tags and visible implant elastomer (VIE) marks to track movements of different darters, shiners, chubs, sunfishes, bass, and suckers in Citico Creek in Cherokee National Forest while Dr. Marshall collects detailed information on how the habitat is changing following the removal of the Lower Citico Dam. We hope the results of this work can be used to inform conservation planning around dam removals in the southeast, particularly in areas where the focal species are not highly migratory
Restoration of Hardwood Bottomlands in west Tennessee - I am collaborating with Dr. Matt Gray (School of Natural Resources) and Dr. Andrea Ludwig (Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science) to collect baseline conditions on biological communities and hydrological features at a future stream and floodplain restoration site at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center. This project will document the fish, vegetation, amphibian, and bird community prior to restoration, and compare that information to other hardwood bottomland sites in various stages of recovery in west Tennessee. Graduate Student: Elena Grandbois.