Ludsin Lab postdoc, Nayan Mallick, graduated with his PhD from University of South Carolina earlier this month. Nayan was advised by Dr. Joshua Stone who was once a postdoc at the AEL.

Several Ludsin Lab undergraduates completed their degrees this spring:

• Paige Dalrymple, who volunteered for Kylee Wilson’s project
• Emma Ficorilli, who worked on multiple Ludsin Lab projects and completed an undergraduate thesis with Stu Ludsin titled, Understanding the influence of early life growth on subsequent growth and body size in juvenile Lake Erie Yellow Perch
• Nieko Mancini, who volunteered on Jacob Bentley’s project

On Thursday, May 1, Jacob Bentley, master’s student with Stu Ludsin, successfully defended his thesis.

His talk was titled, Understanding the Ecological Niche of Introduced Blue Catfish and Resident Sport Fishes in Ohio Reservoirs: Implications for Management.

Well done, Jacob!

After a recess of quite a few years, the annual AEL pig roast has returned!

For many years, AELers gathered at the home of Roy Stein, former director of the AEL, for a fall picnic and pig roast. Due to logistical constraints and then the pandemic, this tradition had been set aside since it’s last occurrence in the fall of 2018.  However, Roy recently generously passed down the pig roaster to Stu, and now the pig roast lives on!

On April 26, a very large group of faculty, students, staff, and their families and other loved ones joined together to enjoy the hard work of Stu, Jacob, Sawyer, Matt (Kylee), Neil, and potentially others, in roasting the whole pig. Everyone else brought sides and desserts that overflowed across three long tables.

Everyone enjoyed lawn games, too much food, and a bonfire. Sawyer and Casey dominated cornhole, running the boards all evening, And kids ran wild, eating their weight in banana pudding and other sweets!

In true AEL fashion, we were all having too good a time during the party to take many photos!

Kylee Wilson, PhD student with Stu Ludsin, received a Mary H. Osburn Memorial Award. These awards are granted to two high performing EEOB graduate students each year.

Monica Woodruff, UM student co-advised by Stu Ludsin, defended her thesis on April 11, Conceptualizing the Recruitment of Walleye, Yellow Perch, and Lake Whitefish in Support of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management in Lake Erie: Insights from Expert Elicitation

AELers Kylee Wilson and Andrew Foley attended the Great Lakes Fishery Commission Lake Erie Committee meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario on March 19. Kylee and Andrew enjoyed participating in the meeting.

Dr. Ludsin will be teaching Ecology of Inland Waters, EEOB 5420 in Fall semester 2025 (4 credits)

Lectures: Weds & Fri, 1:35 – 2:55 PM

Lab: Weds 3:05 – 5:20 PM

• Gain hands-on field experience in freshwater ecosystems
• Plunge into freshwater ecosystem ecology & function
• Discover the drivers of freshwater ecosystem change
• Learn how to manage & protect freshwater systems

Prerequisites: EEOB 3410, graduate student standing, or permission of instructor

The Aquatic Ecology Lab artwork has had an upgrade!

To better represent the diversity of research interests an activities of the AEL, we sought new artwork. In working with the College of Arts & Sciences graphic designers, we have a suite of new imagery that will better represent the AEL and improve our style in presentations, our website, and on social media. We bid a fond farewell to our old fish artwork, but look forward to a future of more diverse research avenues!

The Ludsin Lab was very well represented with attendance and presentations at the Ohio Chapter of the American Fisheries Society joint meeting with Pennsylvania and West Virginia chapters. The meeting took place in Wheeling, West Virginia, March 4-6.

Th presented seven talks and one poster, and enjoyed presentations from many colleagues from the Ohio Division of Wildlife as well as other researchers across the region.

Presentations:

Jacob Bentley Food Web Structure, Ecological Niche, and Niche Overlap of Blue Catfish and Other Sport Fish in Ohio Reservoirs Using Stable Isotopes

Andrew Foley Using High Throughput Sequencing Genetic Analyses to Test for Consumption of Larval Yellow Perch in Piscivorous Fish Diets (poster)

Steve Gratz Factors Affecting Variation in Fatty Acid Composition of Selected Fishes in Central Ohio Reservoirs 
(recent technician, presenting on Jacob Bentley’s work)

Kylee Wilson The Influence of Fishing Gear on Yellow Perch Catch Success in Western Lake Erie

Some conference highlights include Kylee winning best Ohio student talk and Andrew winning best Ohio student poster and best student poster overall.