Ecology & Management of Biological Diversity in Texas and the World
Vision
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences aspires to preeminence among academic programs dealing with ecology, management, and conservation biology. Our faculty is dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge in conservation of biodiversity, natural resource management, and the sustainable use of natural resources. An overarching goal of the department is to facilitate the sustainability of the earth’s biota and the ecosystems on which they depend while accommodating for human health and welfare.
Mission
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences discovers and communicates knowledge relevant to the conservation and management of wildlife and fishery resources and the ecosystems that sustain them through integrated academic instruction, research, and extension programs. We subscribe to a multidisciplinary approach that fosters interdepartmental collaboration and outreach to agencies, nonprofit organizations, and public and private interests over a wide range of natural resource topics, including environmental quality, sustainable management of natural resources, bioinformatics, biocomplexity and environmental quality. We intertwine innovative research and extension endeavors with high-level teaching of undergraduate and graduate students, who represent the next generation land stewards and conservation professionals. We also extend the university to the general public to relate research results in a meaningful way that can be understood and implemented to make positive impacts on natural systems.
Values
The faculty, staff, and students of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences value scholarship in all its forms – discovery, integration, application, and teaching. We value understanding for its own sake, for the betterment of people, and for the conservation of the natural world. The department encourages, appreciates and rewards various forms of scholarly activity in teaching, research, extension, and public service, including integration of these activities. Diverse viewpoints, ethical consideration, and approaches to pursuing and manifesting scholarship, including constructive criticism, are accepted and nurtured.
WFSC faculty, staff, and students all support and adhere to the Aggie Code of Conduct.
Recent Publications
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Kaymak, Nahir, Kirk O. Winemiller, Senol Akin, Zekeriya Altuner, Fatih Polat and Tarik Dal. (2018) Spatial and temporal variation in food web structure of an impounded river in Anatolia, Marine and Freshwater Research, https://doi.org/10.1071/MF17270.
Cembella, Allan D., Urban Tillmann, Christopher J. Gobler, Steve L. Morton, Carmelo R. Tomas, Daniel L. Roelke et al. (2018) Harmful Algal Species Fact Sheets, Harmful Algal Blooms: A Compendium Desk Reference, Chapter 16, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118994672.ch16.
DeWitt, Thomas J., Thomas M. McCarthy, Denise L. Washick, Anne B. Clark, R. Brian Langerhans. (2018) Predator avoidance behavior in response to turtles and its adaptive value in the freshwater snail Planorbella campanulata, Journal of Molluscan Studies, eyy025, https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyy025.
Gonzalez-Felix, Mayra L., Delbert M. Gatlin III, Martin Perez-Velazquez, Ken Webb, Armando Garcia-Ortega and Michael Hume. (2018) Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus growth and expression of bile salt-dependent lipase in response to increasing dietary lipid supplementation, Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-018-0523-z.
Hodo, Carolyn L., Matthew R. Mauldin, Jessica E. Light, Kimberly Wilkins, Shiyuyun Tang, Yoshinori Nakazawa, Ginny L. Emerson, Jana M. Ritter, Joanne L. Mansell and Sarah A. Hamer. (2018) Novel Poxvirus in Proliferative Lesions of Wild Rodents in East Central Texas, USA. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 24(6):1069-1072.
Conway, Kevin W. (2018) On Psilorhynchus sucatio and P. nudithoracicus’, the sequel: Unnecessary and unscientific names lead to rapid synonymization and taxonomic time wasting – A response to Arunachalam et al. Zootaxia, 4418(6):594.
de Cruz, Clement R., Alexander Lubrano and Delbert M. Gatlin III. (2018) Evaluation of microalgae concentrates as partial fishmeal replacements for hybrid striped bass Morone sp. Aquaculture, 493:130-136.
Yamamoto, Fernando Y., Fei Yin, Waldemar Rossi Jr., Michael Hume and Delbert M. Gatlin III. (2018) β-1,3 glucan derived from Euglena gracilis and Algamune (TM) enhances innate immune responses of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus L.). Fish & Shellfish Immunology, 77:273-279.
Peachey, Brittany L., Erin M. Scott and Delbert M. Gatlin III. (2018) Dietary histidine requirement and physiological effects of dietary histidine deficiency in juvenile red drum Sciaenop ocellatus. Aquaculture, 483:244-251.
Xu, Q. and D. M. Gatlin III (2018) Effects of alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) on growth performance and non-specific immunity of juvenile red drum fed diets with low or adequate phosphorus levels. Fish Physiol. Biochem., 44: 573 – 582. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-017-0454-0.
Michelato, M., W. Furuya and D. M. Gatlin III (2018) Metabolic responses of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus to methionine and taurine supplementation. Aquaculture, 485; 66-72.
Perez-Velazquez, M., D. M. Gatlin III, M. L. González-Félix and A. García-Ortega (2018) Partial replacement of fishmeal and fish oil by microalgae meals in diets of red drum Sciaenops ocellatus. Aquaculture 487:41-50.
González-Félix, M. L., D. Gatlin, P. Urquidez-Bejarano, C. de la Reé-Rodríguez, L. Duarte-Rodríguez, F. Sánchez, A. Casas-Reyes, F. Y. Yamamoto, A. Ochoa-Leyva, M. Perez-Velazquez (2018) Effects of commercial dietary prebiotic and probiotic supplements on growth, innate immune responses, and intestinal microbiota and histology of Totoaba macdonaldi. Aquaculture 491:239-251.
Daniel B. Fitzgerald, Mark H Sabaj Perez, Leandro M. Sousa, Alany P. Goncalves, Lucia Rapp Py-Daniel, Nathan K. Lujan, Jansen Zuanon, Kirk O. Winemiller, John G. Lundbert, Diversity and community structure of rapids-dwelling fishes of the Xingu River: Implications for conservation amid large-scale hydroelectric development, Biological Conservation, Volume 222, June 2018, Pages 104-112, ISN 0006-3207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.04.002.
K. W. Oster*, P. S. Barboza, D. D. Gustine, K. Joly andR. D. Shively. (2018) Mineral constraints on arctic caribou (Rangifer tarandus): a spatial and phenological perspective, Ecosphere, Volume 9, March 2018.
Martin JM*, Mead JI, Barboza PS. Bison body size and climate change. Ecol Evol. 2018;00:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4019
Andrew P Anderson, Jessica E Light, Oona M Takano, Michael L Morrison; Population structure of the Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii townsendii) in California, Journal of Mammalogy, , gyy037, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyy037
Schmude, E.*, H. M. Ertl*, R. J. Taylor, M. A. Mora. 2018. Using Feathers to Evaluate Adverse Effects of Metals on Northern Bobwhites (Colinus Virginianus) in Texas. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. DOI: 10.1007/s00244-018-0520-3.
González, D*., Miguel A. Mora-Zacarias, Héctor René Buelna Osben, Jorge Ricardo Ruelas Insunza, Dioselina Alvarez Bernal. 2018. Biomonitoreo de metales pesados en plumas de aves acuáticas residentes del Lago de Chapala. Revista Internacional de Contaminacion Ambiental. 34:00-00.
Ertl, Hannah M.*, Miguel A. Mora, Donald J. Brightsmith, Jorge A. Navarro-Alberto. 2018. Potential Impact of Neonicotinoid Use on Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in Texas: A Historical Analysis. PLoS One 13 (1): e0191100. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191100.
Malone, Eric W., Joshuah S. Perkin, Brian M. Leckie, Matthew A. Kulp, Carla R. Hurt, Donald M. Walker. (2018) Which species, how many, and from where: Integrating habitat suitability, population genomics, and abundance estimates into species reintroduction planning, Global Change Biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14126.
Conway, K. W., A. L. Stewart & A. P. Summers. (2018). A new species of sea urchin associated clingfish of the genus Dellichthys (Teleostei: Gobiesocidae). ZooKeys, 740:77-95. https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/22712/
Yorzinski, Jessica L., Lam, Jennifer, Schultz, Rachel and Davis, Melissa. (2018), Thermoregulatory postures limit antipredator responses in peafowl, Biology Open, 2018, January. http://bio.biologists.org/content/7/1/bio031005
Correa, S.B. and Winemiller, K. (2018), Terrestrial-aquatic trophic linkages support fish production in a tropical oligotrophic river, Oecologia. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4093-7
Drovetski, Sergei V., Reeves, Andrew B., Red’kin, Yaroslav A., Fadeev, Igor V., Koblik, Evgeniy A., Sotnikov, Vladimir N., Voelker, Gary. Multi-locus reassessment of a striking discord between mtDNA gene trees and taxonomy across two congeneric species complexes, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolutions, Volume 120, 2018, 43-52, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790317304347
Entwistle, C., Mora, M. A. and Knight, R. (2018), Estimating coastal wetland gain and losses in Galveston County and Cameron County, Texas, USA. Integr Environ Assess Manag, 14: 120–129. doi:10.1002/ieam.1973
Neam, K. D. and Lacher, T. E. (2018), Multi-scale effects of habitat structure and landscape context on a vertebrate with limited dispersal ability (the brown-throated sloth, Bradypus variegatus). Biotropica. doi:10.1111/btp.12540
Srinivasan M, Swannack TM, Grant WE, Rajan J, Wursig B. To feed or not to feed? Bioenergetic impacts of fear-driven behaviors in lactating dolphins. Ecol Evol. 2018;8:1384-1398. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3732