AELers gathered for a wonderful picnic potluck hosted by Jim Hood. A great time was had by all, especially everyone who got to watch the new lab members who hadn’t yet learned how difficult it is to outlast the stamina of young children in feats of endurance and strength!
The shortbreads, spring rolls, and kebabs, were hits, and we were all grateful for the opportunity to gather one last time before some of our fellow AELers head off for summer field seasons out of state.
Olivia Houpt and Paula Joseph are both undergraduate researchers with Dr. Stu Ludsin here at the AEL. Both of these accomplished and hard-working students have successfully defended their undergraduate theses in preparation for their upcoming graduation with research distinction!
Olivia’s thesis is titled, Understanding the impact of invasive Bythotrephes longimanus on Yellow Perch angling success in western Lake Erie.
Paula’s thesis is titled, Assessing Sandusky River’s Contribution to Western Lake Erie’s Walleye population: Pre-Dam Removal Perspectives and Management Implications.
Congratulations to both Paula and Olivia on their hard work and diligence in these efforts!
Ludsin Lab PhD student Kylee Wilson and master’s student
Andrew Foley attended the 9th World Fisheries Congress in Seattle at the beginning of March. Kylee and Andrew also met with Jarrod Ludwig, a master’s student at Kylee’s former institution, SUNY Brockport; Jarrod has also helped with sample processing on AEL projects.
Kylee presented a talk at the conference, titled, Determinants of Yellow Perch angling success in Lake Erie.
Ludsin Lab was very well represented at the Ohio Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting March 14-15, 2024. The meeting was organized by current Ohio Chapter of AFS president and Ludsin Lab research technician, Steven Gratz. There were also three presentations by Ludsin Lab members, including the plenary talk by Stu Ludsin and two catfish presentations. Abstracts of presentations can be found here.
Dr. Stu Ludsin gave an invited talk to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Board of Technical Experts on Tuesday, March 5th. The talk presented findings from a recently completed GLFC project, entitled “Physiochemical and energy landscapes as a driver of Lake Erie walleye population dynamics: past, present & future”, for which former Ludsin Lab member, David Dippold, did his PhD research and several former AEL post-docs (Noel Aloysius, Michael Fraker, Conor Keitzer, and David Glover) conducted research.
Ludsin Lab undergraduate thesis students Paula Joseph and Olivia Houpt, both advised by Stu Ludsin, presented at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum on March 5, 2024. Both students presented in the category Insects & Other Animal Sciences.
Paula presented on her thesis work, titled, An Otolith Microchemical Approach to Determine Sandusky River Contributions of Recruits to Lake Erie’s Walleye Population Before Removal of the Ballville Dam.
Olivia presented on her thesis work, titled, Understanding the Impact of Bythotrephes longimanus on Yellow Perch Angling Success in Western Lake Erie, for which she was awarded 3rd place in the category.
Ludsin Lab was represented at the 84th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, January 28-31, 2024.
Jacob Bentley, MS student studying under Stu Ludsin, and his research technician, Steven Gratz, both presented on Ohio Division of Wildlife funded research on catfish in Ohio reservoirs.
Jacob’s talk was titled, Feeding Ecology of Reservoir-Dwelling Ictalurids in Sympatry and Allopatry.
Steven’s talk was titled, Characterizing Variation in Feeding and Habitat Use of Blue Catfish and Channel Catfish in Reservoirs: A Stable Isotope Approach. Additionally, in his role as Ohio Chapter of the American Fisheries Society president, Steven accepted the award for American Fisheries Society – North Central Division Best Chapter Communications Award.
Stu Ludsin is hosting the 47th Annual Larval Fish Conference (LFC47) of the Early Life History Section of the American Fisheries Society in May, 2024.
The conference will be held at Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, Ohio, and will include four days of plenary sessions, a day of optional field trips (choices will include kayaking, touring Stone Lab, visiting a state fish hatchery, and touring a Lake Erie wetland), an early career workshop on preventing burnout, and a bonus Larval Fish ID workshop.
Abstract submission is open, and abstracts are due Friday, March 1.
Dr. Ludsin, in his role as director of the Fish Management in Ohio Partnership with the Ohio Division of Wildlife (DOW), hosted the annual Lake Erie & Inland Waters Research Review December 14-15, 2023. The two-day event had 20 speakers and 13 posters, with presentations on topics from invasive grass carp, to dam removal in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, to the economics of Ohio’s fisheries.
Ludsin Lab members were among the presenters:
Kylee Wilson & Lindsey Bruckerhoff (OSU-AEL); Zachary Slagle & Heather Luken (ODNR-DOW); and Stuart Ludsin (OSU-AEL). Preliminary insights into factors that drive Yellow Perch angling success in western Lake Erie.
Jacob Bentley & Stuart Ludsin (OSU-AEL). Feeding ecology of Blue Catfish and other top predators in central Ohio reservoirs.
Olivia Houpt, Kylee Wilson & Stuart Ludsin (OSU-AEL). Understanding the impact of invasive Bythotrephes longimanus on Yellow Perch angling success in western Lake Erie. [Poster]
Manjunath Manubolu & Kavitha Pathakoti (OSU-AEL); Kenneth Riedl (OSU, Food Science & Technology); Christian Lauber & Lauren Mashburn Warren (Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Institute for Genomic Medicine); Miki Watanabe-Chailland & Lindsey Romick-Rosendale (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, NMR-Based Metabolomics Core); and Stuart Ludsin (OSU-AEL). Microcystin Effects on Juvenile Yellow Perch Stress Physiology, Liver Metabolomics, and Gut Microbial Composition. [Poster]
Full Program of Speakers and Posters [pdf]
If you attended this year’s Research Review and would like access to talks, please contact Jenny Pfaff (pfaff.20@osu.edu).
Happy Holidays from Ludsin Lab and everyone else at the AEL!