Hannes Baumann (PI)
Hannes Baumann started the 'Evolutionary Fish Ecology' Lab in September 2014 to expand ecological and evolutionary frontiers via experimental, field, and modeling work. His work investigates, how coastal marine organisms will cope with the simultaneous changes in their environment caused by global and regional human activity, and how they are already adapted to environmental fluctuations in e.g. temperature, oxygen, or pH.
Local field work includes maintaining deployed sensors, frequent collections with plankton nets and beach seines, in addition to laboratory rearing of fish, physiological measurements, and otolith microstructure analysis - all of which can incorporate the help of interested and ambitious undergraduate students searching for hands-on experience and own projects.
Current grants:
- 2022 – Baumann, H. Towards a fully annotated reference genome of Northern sand lance Ammodytes dubius. UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences #2546140 ($14,455).
- 2022 – Baumann, H., Pacileo, D., Benway, J., and McBride, R.S. Increasing Black Sea Bass abundance in Long Island Sound: a local or broader regional phenomenon? Connecticut Sea Grant College Program R/LR-30 ($149,173 2 years).
- 2020 – Baumann, H., Savoy, T., Benway, J., and Pacileo, D. A re-emergent spawning population of Atlantic Sturgeon in the Connecticut River? Combined age analyses and telemetry data will provide new insights. Connecticut Sea Grant College Program ($149,690 2 years). Project page
- 2018 – Therkildsen, N. and Baumann, H. Collaborative research: The genomic underpinnings of local adaptation despite gene flow along a coastal environmental cline. NSF-OCE #1756316 ($325,388 3 years) Project page
Lucas Jones MSc (PhD student)
Lucas Jones started in summer 2019 as a master student in the Baumann lab after getting his bachelors degree from the University of Connecticut. He first volunteered in our lab 2017 and because of his dedication and experimental talent quickly became an indispensable asset to our scientific operations. He continued to leverage his familiarity with our rearing system to further investigate the climate sensitivity and population characteristics of Northern sand lance (Ammodytes dubius), an important winter-spawning forage fish in the Gulf of Maine. For his actual Master thesis research, Lucas again broadened his skill set and ventured into genomics and bioinformatics, graduated in December 2021 with a thesis titled:
"Using low-coverage, whole genome sequencing to study Northern sand lance (Ammodytes dubius) population connectivity in the Northwest Atlantic" (UConn Library Digital Repository)
- Jones, L.F., Lou, R.N., Murray, C.S., Robert, D., Bourne, C.M., Bouchard, C., Kučka, M., Chan, Y.F., Carlon, D.B., Wiley, D.N., Therkildsen, N.O., and Baumann, H. (2022) Two distinct population clusters of Northern sand lance (Ammodytes dubius) on the Northwest Atlantic shelf revealed by whole genome sequencing. ICES Journal of Marine Science (published online 5 Dec 22)
Lucas now started as a PhD student in our lab (fall 2022), seeking to take sand lance climate sensitivity and genomics to the next levels to learn more about this enigmatic species.
[Northern sand lance, population dynamics, connectivity, climate change]
lucas.jones@uconn.edu
Max Zavell (PhD student)
Max Zavell started as a PhD student in our lab in fall 2020, after graduating in May 2020 with his Bachelor from the University of Rhode Island. Max is working experimentally to explore questions of coastal fish and climate change. In addition to Atlantic silversides (Menidia menidia), his work is breaking new ground for our lab by starting to work with Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata). Growth, physiology, and sex determination of this northernmost grouper species are of great interest, given its recent, explosive increase in abundance in Long Island Sound and the larger northwest Atlantic shelf.
[Atlantic Silverside, Black Sea Bass, metabolism, sex determination, age, growth, migration, climate sensitivity]
max.zavell@uconn.edu
David Riser (MS student)
David Riser started his Masters in September 2020 after graduating with his Bachelor from the University of Connecticut and a Major in Marine Sciences. David already looks back on a successful career in the US Coast Guard, but now ventures to develop academic chops and expertise. In close collaboration with CTDEEP, he is analyzing time series of Black Sea Bass catches in Long Island Sound and has already become an ageing expert of Black Sea Bass using otoliths, which will yield important insights how these fish grow in Long Island Sound.
[Black Sea Bass Centropristis striata, otoliths, age, growth, migration]
david.j.riser@uconn.edu
Undergraduate volunteers, summer students
Volunteering and working as an undergraduate in our lab is a great way to explore and develop your fascination with Fish Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, while gathering practical and analytical skills. And if it's not 'your cup of tea' - no hard feelings.
