College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Education:

• Ph.D. – Fisheries and Wildlife and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 2023
• M.Sc. – Fisheries and Wildlife, 2017
• B.S. – Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 2011

Background:

I am a Michigan native who enjoys taking advantage of the many natural resources the state has to offer.  I am an avid fisherman with particular interests in chasing trout, salmon, and smallmouth bass. I also enjoy all the camping, fishing, hiking, photography, and great supply of beer Michigan has to offer. I received my bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University where I gained various undergraduate research experiences with the spiny water flea (Bythotrephes longimanus), sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). I completed my M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees at Michigan State University under Weiming Li, where my thesis and dissertation focused on researching sea lamprey pheromone communication and reproductive ecology.

Research:

My research interests revolve around integrating knowledge of behavioral ecology into natural resources management, and I have specific interests in studying animal behavior, pheromone communication, signal evolution, and the reproductive ecology of fishes. My current research focuses on advancing our understanding of sea lamprey pheromone communication with an overarching goal of leveraging knowledge of sea lamprey chemical ecology into invasive species control. Pheromones induce predictable and stereotyped behaviors that could potentially be manipulated for our benefit in management scenarios. By understanding the specific functions of pheromone components, how pheromones influence behavior across various contexts, and how pheromones evolved, we learn how to more efficiently and effectively target sea lamprey behaviors when developing supplemental control tools/tactics that utilize pheromones and other chemosensory information.