College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Great Lakes Science Center, US Geological Survey

Research Fisheries Biologist

Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Adjunct Professor

Area of Expertise:

Natural resource ecology, particularly fish ecology, fisheries biology, and management

Background

Great Lakes Science Center, U. S. Geological Survey
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Research Fishery Biologist.  1/92 to present.  Research in the following four theme areas:  (1) fish community dynamics and native fish restoration in the Laurentian Great Lakes, (2) invasion biology in the Laurentian Great Lakes, (3) evaluation and application of fish bioenergetics models, and (4) contaminant accumulation in fish.  Research in theme area 1 is directed at understanding the dynamics of fish populations and fish communities in the Great Lakes and at restoring native fish populations to the Great Lakes.  Research in this theme area draws heavily from the annual surveys conducted by the Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC).  To track prey fish abundances through time, the GLSC has been performing bottom trawl surveys each year on all five Laurentian Great Lakes from as early as 1973.  To complement the bottom trawl surveys, the GLSC has more recently begun to perform hydroacoustic surveys on the lakes each year.  In addition, to track progress toward lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) restoration, the GLSC annually conducts gillnet surveys in each of the lakes.  For Lake Michigan, the annual gillnet surveys began in 1991 in the Northern Refuge of the lake.  The annual bottom trawl surveys are not only essential for understanding the dynamics of the important prey fish species in Lake Michigan, but are invaluable in determining the degree of species interactions between the various species of prey fish.  Likewise, the annual gillnet surveys are essential for determining progress toward lake trout restoration in the Northern Refuge of Lake Michigan.  In addition, habitat suitability for cisco (Coregonus artedi) in Green Bay (Lake Michigan) has been investigated.  Various types of both regression modeling and population modeling have also been used to better understand the dynamics of Great Lakes fish populations and fish communities.  Cross-lake comparisons are essential toward understanding prey fish dynamics and impediments to native species restoration in the Great Lakes.  Research in theme area 2 is directed at understanding the effects of invasives on native and naturalized fish populations and fish communities and at identifying the important factors controlling the abundance of invasives in the Laurentian Great Lakes.  Research in this theme area draws heavily from the annual surveys conducted by the GLSC.  In addition, various types of both regression modeling and population modeling are used to better understand effects of invasives on fish communities as well as to assess the importance of various factors on controlling abundance of invasives.  Cross-lake comparisons are essential in determining effects of invasives on Great Lakes food webs.  Research in theme area 3 is directed at:  (a) evaluating the performance of fish bioenergetics models both in the laboratory and in the field, and (b) applying fish bioenergetics models in new and novel ways to better understand feeding ecology of fish.  Part of the effort in theme area 3 includes use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as tracers for energy flow between prey and predator.  Research in theme area 4 is directed at:  (a) the sex effect on PCB concentrations in fish, (b) trophic transfer efficiencies of contaminants to fish from their food, and (c) rates of mercury excretion by fish.  Bioenergetics modeling is also useful in studying sex differences in PCB concentrations.  Laboratory experiments are used to estimate trophic transfer of PCBs, mercury, and other contaminants to fish from their food, as well as to estimate the rate of mercury excretion by fish.               

Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Research Associate.  9/90 to 1/92.  Research on individual-based modeling of growth of salmonids and of microcontaminant uptake by salmonids in the Great Lakes.  Responsibilities include development and exercising of individual-based computer simulation models, and application of the models to determine stocking strategies which minimize concentrations of contaminants in salmonids. 

Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Postdoctoral Fellow.  7/89 to 8/90.  Research on modeling of growth of young-of-the-year walleye.  Responsibilities included development and exercising of individual-based computer simulation models, and application of the models to determine optimum stocking strategies for fingerling walleyes in Lake Mendota (Wisconsin).

Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, University of Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Research Associate.  12/88 to 7/89.  Research on potential uses of cold- water effluent from expanded OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) operation.  Responsibilities include development and exercising of computer simulation models for nutrient cycling and primary production in the cold-water effluent, and investigating the feasibility of enhancing ocean fisheries from artificial upwellings. 

Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii
Kaneohe, Hawaii
Graduate Research Assistant.  7/83 to 11/88.  Research on dissolved oxygen dynamics in aquaculture ponds.  Responsibilities included modeling, writing of computer simulation and parameter estimation programs, statistical analysis of data, report writing, field work, development and maintenance of automated data logger for monitoring dissolved oxygen and meteorological parameters, and lab processing of samples.
 
Great Lakes Research Division, University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Research Assistant.  4/78 to 6/83.   Research on environmental impacts of several different power plants on fish populations in the respective vicinities of these plants.  Responsibilities included computer programming, data base management, data analysis and interpretation, writing sections of impact reports, lab duties and field work (including SCUBA diving).  Author of statistical analysis sections of special reports for the J. H. Campbell Power Plant study.
 
University of Michigan Sea Grant Program
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Research Assistant.  4/77 to 4/78.  Time series analysis and forecasting of fishery catch and effort.  Responsibilities included modeling, interpretation of results and writing of report (M.S. thesis).

Chuck Madenjian's USGS Profile