We are so proud to announce that Zoe Almeida successfully defended her dissertation Friday, January 29. Her dissertation is titled, “Legacies of early-life experiences on individual, cohort, and population performance of Lake Erie Walleye.” Zoe will begin a postdoc position at Oregon State University with Dr. Jessica Miller and Dr. Ben Laurel, examining the effects of marine heat waves on juvenile Pacific cod.

A recording of her seminar can be found here (the formal presentation begins at about 6:15).

Postdocs Ben Marcek ended his time at the AEL this week.

Ben is moving on to a position as a Fish Biologist and Aquatic Invasive Species Branch Chief with the US Fish and Wildlife Service Carterville Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Carbondale, Illinois.

We are grateful for his contributions in his time at the AEL!

The Lake Erie and Inland Waters Annual Research Review took place virtually Thursday and Friday, December 17-18.

Dr. Stu Ludsin hosted the meeting with minimal technical difficulties, and we all learned about the great research taking place in Ohio. Folks from The Ohio State University, Ohio Division of Wildlife, University of Toledo, and CIGLR all presented. The presentations were supported by a variety of other schools and agencies including USGS Great Lakes Science Center, Fisheries Canada, Queen’s University, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Michigan DNR, and NOAA-GLERL. See the AEL page for a list of talks.

David graduated yesterday at The Ohio State University Autumn Commencement. Congratulations David!

On November 17 PhD candidate David Dippold gave his exit seminar titled, Responses of an Exploited Fish Population to Environmental Change. For more information on his project, check his project page.

In a recent election of officers for the executive committee of the AFS Early Life History Section, Stu was voted in as the new President-Elect.  He will serve in this capacity for two years before serving as the president for two years.

The AEL is proud to have him contribute to the broader scientific community in this way!

See the announcement here.

Graduate Student Positions in Aquatic/Fisheries Ecology

Research opportunities:  Dr. Stuart Ludsin (u.osu.edu/ludsinlab) has openings available for up to three M.S. and Ph.D. students to conduct basic and applied research in aquatic ecology. Research topics include: 1) the ecology of Lake Erie yellow perch (e.g., Are invasive species affecting yellow perch foraging, movement, and vulnerability to anglers?); 2) the ecology of blue catfish and channel catfish in Ohio reservoirs (e.g., Do these species compete for food and habitat?); and 3) the impact of cyanobacteria blooms and hypoxia on Lake Erie’s food webs (e.g., How do these stressors affect habitat use, feeding interactions, energy flow, and (or) cyanotoxin accumulation in the food web?). Students would help design their projects, with each project potentially allowing for the opportunity to do fieldwork (e.g., telemetry), modeling, and experiments.

Location: Successful candidates will join a dynamic, interactive group of students, post-docs, and faculty at The Ohio State University’s Aquatic Ecology Laboratory (ael.osu.edu) within the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology (eeob.osu.edu).

Qualifications: Successful applicants will be creative, motivated, and capable of working effectively both independently and in collaborative groups. A Bachelor’s degree and (or) M.S. degree in biology, ecology, fisheries, general aquatic sciences, or a related field is required. Strong writing, quantitative, and people-management skills are essential.

Stipend: $2,389/month plus full tuition waiver and health benefits. Graduate Research Assistantship support exists for the first listed two projects, whereas the third project has Graduate Teaching Assistantship support.

Start date: Fall 2021.

How to apply: Application review will begin on Nov. 15, with applications accepted until suitable candidates are found. If interested, please email Dr. Stuart Ludsin (apps.AEL@gmail.com): 1) a letter of interest that briefly describes your educational and research background, as well as  your research interests/goals; 2) a curriculum vitae (or resume); 3) an unofficial copy of your transcript(s); 4) contact information for at least three professional references; and 5) your GRE scores (although they are not mandatory for admission), and if applicable, TOEFL/TSE scores. Please put “Ludsin Graduate Positions” in the subject line.

Additional information: For additional information about application procedures and requirements, visit EEOB Graduate Program Admissions page. For more information about the Aquatic Ecology Laboratory or Dr. Ludsin, please visit the websites above or contact me at apps.AEL@gmail.com.

Click here for a pdf version of this posting [pdf].

This page – u.osu.edu/ludsinlab – will be the new home of Dr. Stuart Ludsin’s faculty page. Check out all the pages for information on Dr. Ludsin’s research program and academic focus.

Research

Teaching

Publications

Dr. Becca Dillon successfully defended her dissertation today! Her dissertation is titled:

Re-evaluation of north-temperate reservoir food web interactions and their assessment

We are very proud of all of her hard work!

Undergrads Brady Rude and Luke Bobay both successfully defended honors theses this week.

• Brady Rude: Do cyanobacteria blooms increase parasite loads in Lake Erie yellow perch?
• Luke Bobay: To what degree do preferred prey abundance and temperature influence growth rates of larval yellow perch in Lake Erie?

Great job to both students, and additional congratulations to Brady who is slated to graduate this semester.