Dr. Susan Colvin
Stream and Lake Fishes
Dr. Susan Colvin
Ecological integration of applied fisheries research, field research in natural as well as anthropogenically altered systems, and pursuit of understanding theoretical foundations of how biological systems work and function.
My research approach seeks to integrate fisheries and ecological approaches to inform both as well as build our understanding of biological interactions and ecological principles. I enjoy working in primarily aquatic environments in streams, rivers, and still waters with fishes. I enjoy researching other taxa such as invertebrates, plants, and other organisms important to aquatic and riparian communities.
Currently, I am working to assess change in fish assemblages of the Unity region with data collected by the Fisheries Techniques course over the past 30 years and with on-going projects. Part of this investigation addresses whether regional headwater streams act as habitat refugia for native fish species. Other aspects of the project attempt to address what factors influence populations of non-native and native species in Unity Pond and assess how population levels of one species may affect another.
Other research interests include investigating how fish assemblages differ by stream type such as clear and blackwater streams, and seeking to understand what factors contribute to these assemblage differences. I seek to better understand what environmental factors in different systems contribute to which fish species inhabit a system. Additionally, I am interested in how anthropogenic influences alter these patterns.
I am also interested in what individual, species, and assemblage level data tells us about how biological communities are structured. Simple biological relationships such as the species-area relationship or the addition of species as area increases are still not well understood. I believe that projects on stream & lake fishes can inform biological understanding on many levels.
