Dr. Kevin Bestgen — I am a Research Scientist and aquatic ecologist working mainly on native and endangered fishes and their ecosystems. With students and colleagues in the Larval Fish Laboratory, a research group in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, we investigate factors affecting distribution and abundance of native aquatic organisms, especially those related to altered flow, water temperature, and sediment regimes, and introduced, nonnative fishes. We search for solutions to conserve native fishes and their habitats in riverine systems regulated by dams and invaded by nonnative predaceous fishes. Our geographic focus is the western United States, with a focus on Colorado and Utah and the Colorado River basin. These interdisciplinary conservation issues are challenging given complex ecological interactions, climate change effects, and diverse stakeholder interests that are set in an arid environment with a rapidly expanding human population.
Catherine de Vlaming, M.S.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.