Teaching
BIO 363 Great Lakes Environmental Issues
Terms Offered: Fall 2025, Spring 2026
An interdisciplinary course focused on the interactions of biological, geological, hydrological, and environmental components of the Great Lakes ecosystems utilizing specific examples from south eastern Lake Ontario, its tributaries, and adjacent coastal plain. Environmental degradation and its impacts on society and culture will be examined.
BIO 462 Capstone Research: Fisheries Biology
Terms Offered: Fall 2025
This is a laboratory course with a fisheries biology focus. This course introduces basic fisheries biology concepts such as stock assessment, age structure and year class strength, growth and body condition, restoration ecology, fish anatomy and behavior, and management of commercial and recreational fisheries. Lab activities may include fish dissections, otolith aging, diet analysis, larval fish identification, and other hands-on skills as well as discussions of current scientific literature. Students will receive instruction in scientific writing, with a particular focus on clear and effective communication, narrative arc, statistical analysis and interpretation, figure design, and scientific writing conventions.
ZOO 441 Fisheries Techniques
Terms Offered: Spring 2026
In this course, students will learn about the conservation and management of fish species targeted for fisheries. Students will apply ecological and evolutionary principles to topics related to fish conservation, review methods for estimating population and community scale parameters in Fisheries Science, and learn how such information is used to manage fish populations.
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ZOO (TBA) Science Communication
Terms Offered: Spring 2026
This course focuses on the theory and practice of effective science communication. Students will learn to identify various audiences for outreach efforts and design targeted communication strategies for these audiences. Practical hands-on experience with various written and digital communication platforms such as press releases, blogs, podcasts, Wikipedia editing, and social media is included in this course. Emphasis will be placed on storytelling, narrative structure, and interpreting complex scientific principles and processes for non-science audiences. Additionally, students will review and discuss current literature and theory on effective communication and public engagement in science.