October 2017 announcements
Showcase presentations now available
If you missed the 2017 Aquatic Invasive Species Research and Management Showcase, you can view the presentations and posters here. Everything from understanding how AIS disrupt sport fisheries to invasional meltdowns in Minnesota lakes to decoding the zebra mussel genome is covered (and much more!). Thanks for the MPR News team, you can also peek inside our state-of-the art lab here.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers implements changes at lock and dam 8
Following recommendations made by MAISRC’s Peter Sorensen, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently changed the way it operates Lock and Dam 8 on the Mississippi River in order to help prevent the upstream spread of invasive carp. These recommendations were based on research into the velocity and flow of water through the dam. Learn more about this research here.
Farewell and thank you to two MAISRC staffers
This fall, MAISRC bid a fond farewell to two team members: Becca Nash and Luis Escobar. Becca accepted a new position as the Director of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. She has been an integral component of MAISRC’s success since 2012 and will be missed!
Luis recently accepted a faculty position in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech. We wish him the best!
MAISRC graduate theses
Two MAISRC graduate students recently completed their theses. Melaney Dunne conducted research on the response of aquatic macrophytes to lake management practices and the role of light in the germination of macrophyte propagules. Reid Swanson conducted research on the ability of microsatellite DNA markers and otolith microchemistry to distinguish spatially separated populations and identify recruitment sites of common carp in interconnected lake systems of the North American Midwest. Read their papers here.
MAISRC’s Josh Poole wins Kolshorn award
MAISRC graduate student Josh Poole won the coveted Outstanding Conservation Sciences Graduate Student award for the 2016-2017 school year. The award is in recognition of outstanding efforts as a M.S. student in research, teaching, publication, outreach, and fundraising in the preceding year. Congratulations to Josh!
Welcome Pat Mulcahy
Pat Mulcahy, MAISRC's new AIS program coordinator is joining the team working to develop and deliver MAISRC's extension programs (AIS Detectors, AIS Trackers, and Starry Trek). He has already been hard at work improving the functionality of the AIS Detectors volunteer portal, creating materials for AIS Trackers online training, and more! Pat joins us from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and holds a MS in applied marine and watershed science from California State University, Monterey Bay and a BS in biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Welcome Pat!
