People

Dr. Jeff Wesner | Principal Investigator

Jeff works on the ecology and conservation of stream and terrestrial ecosystems. He employs population, community, behavioral and food web ecology to: (1) guide conservation of freshwater species; and, (2) understand how species loss, species introductions and pollution affect food webs.

Research Gate | Google Scholar | CV | Jeff.Wesner@usd.edu

Dr. Vojsava Gjoni | Postdoc

Vojsava (“Savina”) is working on an NSF-funded project to assess the responses of body size and metabolism to stream temperature and resource supply using NEON data. Google Scholar |

Ryan Dunbeck | Masters candidate

Ryan completed his B.S. in Fish and Wildlife Sciences at the University of Idaho and joined our lab in fall 2019. He is studying the impacts of Asian Carp on freshwater food webs using historical data and experimental approaches. CV

Lindsey LaBrie | Masters candidate

Lindsey completed a B.S. in Fisheries & Wildlife with an emphasis in Conservation Biology as well as a B.A. in German Language & Culture in May 2020 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She joined the lab in January 2021 and is studying Invasive Bighead and Silver Carp movement in the James, Big Sioux, and Vermillion Rivers using eDNA, qPCR, and telemetry methods. CV

Staci Reynolds | Masters Candidate

Staci graduated with a BS in Biology from the University of Wisconsin – Superior.

Undergraduates

Aria Smith

Trevor Welch

Jacob Woelmer

Alexandra Graham

Mariah Block

Lab Alumni

Postdocs

Justin Pomeranz | 2019-2021 | Body size, food webs, Bayesian modeling. Current Position: Assistant Professor – Colorado Mesa University. Website|Google Scholar

Graduate students

Tanner Carlson | MS 2022 | Population Dynamics and Seasonal Movements of Blue Suckers (Cycleptus elongatus) in the James River, South Dakota. Current Position: Fisheries Biologist, Indiana

Abraham Kanz | MS 2019 | Stage-structured feeding in fishes. Current Position: Ph.D. Candidate – Oklahoma State University.

Kayla Jarandson | Accelerated MS 2019| Stage-structured feeding in fishes. Current Position: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources LinkedIn

Brianna Henry | MS 2018 | Tile drains and prairie pothole cross-ecosystem connections. Current Position: Natural Resources Conservation Service, Beltsville, MD | @brithebiologist

Lauren Henning | MS 2018 | Odonate predator-prey interactions | @henning_lauren

Jerry Warmbold | MS 2016 | Fish ecology and aquatic-terrestrial linkages. Current Position: Canadian Fisheries | @jerrywarmbold

Undergraduate students

Jacob Ridgway | 2019 | Stage-structured feeding in fishes

Katy McCarthy | NSF-REU 2019 | HUFA’s in aquatic-terrestrial food webs

Alexis Culley | NSF-REU 2019 | Stage-structured feeding in fishes

Sarah Lane | 2019 | Stage-structured feeding in fishes

Yasmeen Sandoval | NSF-REU 2018 | Stage-structured feeding in fishes

Tyler Seidel | NSF-REU 2017 | Asian carp and native fish effects on insect emergence (Ph.D. student in Jaques Finlay‘s lab, University of Minnesota – Fall 2018)

Charles Nearman | Independent Study 2017 | Fathead minnows and insect emergence. Current Position: USGS

Erika Oddy | Independent Study 2017 | Spatial and temporal variation in insect emergence from backwaters of the Missouri River. Current Position: USGS

Michael Bosch | Independent Study 2015 | Invertebrate population models. Current Position: Ph.D. Candidate in Tony Ives‘ lab, University of Wisconsin.

Madi Krause | Volunteer 2015 | Mayfly culture and population model.

Nathan Bedoya | Volunteer 2015 | Fish predation meta-analysis. Current Position: Software sales, California.

Dr. Erik Manke | Independent study 2014 | Meta-analysis of fish effects on aquatic insects. Current Position: Resident – University of Iowa.

Spencer Neuharth | Independent study 2014 | Effects of toxins on fish hatchery eggs. Current Position: Freelance Outdoor Writer @SpencerNeuharth

Justin Schaefer | Independent study 2014 | Aquatic invertebrates of the Missouri River. Current Position: Opthamology Student, Boston, MA.

Jessica Speiser | Wetland tile drainage and insect emergence. Current Position: Rapid City, SD