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World Aquaculture Society 2019 Conference

WFSC at the World Aquaculture 2019

Some of the WFSC attendees at the World Aquaculture 2019 Conference

TAMU aquaculture students and faculty attended the World Aquaculture Society 2019 conference in New Orleans, March 7-11.  Graduate Students Fernando Yamamoto and Clement de Cruz were recognized at this year’s show. The conference is the largest aquaculture meeting in the world, with close to 4,000 in attendance. Fernando Yamamoto received the Best Abstract/Travel Award from the World Aquaculture Society and in addition earned a victory in the Student Spotlight Presentation Competition.  His presentation on “Growth and Physiological Effects of Replacing Fish Meal By Dry Extruded Seafood Waste Blended With Plant Protein Co-Products In Diets For Advanced Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus Juveniles” was selected as best overall student presentation.  Clement de Cruz won the 2019 Pentair and USAS Student Travel Award.  Numerous other students from WFSC gave outstanding oral presentations and poster presentations on their current research.

Fernando Yamamoto and Clement de Cruz with their awards.

Fernando Yamamoto and Clement de Cruz with their awards.

East Foundation 3MT Director’s Award

The results are in.

 The East Foundation’s Board of Directors has made their selection for the winner of the 3MT Director’s Award.  A big congratulations to Faith Hardin (“Southern Texas Ecosystem Engineers: How the Golden-fronted Woodpecker can Improve Avian Species Richness”) for winning the 2018 East Foundation 3MT Director’s Award of $3,000.  Very…well…done!

 The voting was extremely close between the top 2 presentations, and the Directors also wish to acknowledge the runner-up, Jason Lombardi (“Change of Woody Cover Affects Ocelot Recovery in the Rio Grande Delta”), with an award of $1,000. 

 A big thanks to all the student presenters and faculty advisors who mentored students.  Overall, we believe this event was a huge success and we will be looking for ways to enhance it in the future.

 Again, congratulations to all the winners Faith Hardin (Director’s), Jason Lombardi (Director’s Runner-up), AnnMarie Blackburn (People’s Choice), and Abe Woodard (Proposal)!

(Originally posted by Tyler A. Campbell)

Winemiller honored by the American Fisheries Society

Winemiller honored by the American Fisheries Society

Posted: 31 Aug 2018 06:00 AM PDT

Media contact: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Kirk Winemiller has received the American Fisheries Society Award of Excellence and was inducted as a Fellow at the society’s 2018 annual meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Dr. Kirk Winemiller, Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist and Regents Professor in the department of wildlife and fisheries sciences at Texas A&M University, College Station, has received the Award of Excellence and was inducted as a Fellow of the American Fisheries Society. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

Winemiller is a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist and Regents Professor in the department of wildlife and fisheries sciences at Texas A&M University, College Station.

American Fisheries Society President Steve L. McMullin presented the award at the meeting’s plenary session.

The Award of Excellence is presented to a living person for original and outstanding contributions to fisheries and aquatic biology. It is the Society’s highest award for scientific achievement.

“We applaud the distinguished contributions of Dr. Winemiller and thank him for his continuous efforts to share the value of fisheries and aquatic biology,” McMullin said.

Winemiller’s research activities and interests focus on multiple areas, including ecology, evolution, systematics, biology, fisheries management, and biodiversity conservation. His publications in these fields have led to major advances in fisheries and aquatic ecosystem management.

Winemiller has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles with his most cited papers concerning fish life history. Winemiller’s life-history model predicts how demographic tradeoffs influence fish population responses to environmental variation—particularly to altered flow regimes and harvest levels. He has also advanced the science of fish food-web ecology, fish functional traits and fish density dependence, according to the society.

Winemiller received the George Mercer Award in 1992 from the Ecological Society of America for an outstanding ecological research paper published by a researcher younger than 40 years old.

Winemiller has also been recognized as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America.

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Texas Master Naturalist program garners Texas Wildlife Society award

Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Contact: Michelle Haggerty, 830-896-2504, mmhaggerty@tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION — The Texas Master Naturalist program was recently honored by the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society with its Outstanding Achievement Award.

The award was presented during the recent Texas chapter’s annual conference for the program’s impacts on the conservation industry throughout the program’s 20-year history, according to a news release distributed by the society.

The program, led by Michelle Haggerty, Texas Master Naturalist program state coordinator at Kerrville, and Mary Pearl Meuth, assistant coordinator, College Station, is designed to develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education, outreach and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities for the state of Texas.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department sponsor the program, which is supported by an extensive network of experts from both agencies. Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society stated the program teaches advanced training and also supports the outreach and stewardship projects of its more than 11,000 volunteers.

Dr. Neal Wilkins, past president of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society and current executive director of the East Foundation, presented the award commenting, “The Texas Master Naturalist program has been an unbelievable asset to this state. Volunteers for the program are committed. They are the heart and soul of what really goes on out on the landscape.”

The Texas Master Naturalist program was also honored as it “brings skilled volunteers together and works with communities and organizations across the state to implement youth outreach programs, operate parks, nature centers and natural areas, and provides leadership in local natural resource conservation efforts,” Wilkins said during the presentation, according to the release.

The Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society was established in 1965 and represents the state’s interest in involving resource professionals and stimulating involvement by all concerned individuals in science-based conservation practices.

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Texas A&M Chapter of the Wildlife Society BBQ & Annual Department Awards

The Texas A&M Chapter of the Wildlife Society BBQ and Annual Department Awards will be held Saturday, April 14th from 6:00-8:00 pm. Presale tickets are only $15 and can be purchased at the WFES building, room 150. Admission will include dinner, drinks, and a chance to win a prize! There will be a photo contest, raffles and a silent auction. See the attached flyer for more information.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Four named Faculty Fellows by Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M AgriLife Research named four Faculty Fellows during its awards ceremony Jan. 9 at the AgriLife Center on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station.

Dr. Kirk Winemiller of College Station has been named Senior Faculty Fellow, while Dr. Amir Ibrahim and Dr. Rhonda Miller, also from College Station, and Dr. Qingwu Xue of Amarillo have been named Faculty Fellows.

The Faculty Fellow title become part of the individual’s title. AgriLife Research established the Faculty Fellows Program in 1998 to acknowledge and reward exceptional research faculty within the agency.

“These four outstanding researchers have exhibited great contributions to sustainability in agriculture, which are critical as our population increases rapidly both in the U.S. and worldwide,” said Dr. Craig Nessler, AgriLife Research director in College Station.

Winemiller is an AgriLife Research fisheries scientist and Regents Professor in the department of wildlife and fisheries sciences. His research focuses on fish populations and community ecology, life history strategies and food web ecology with emphasis on rivers, streams and estuaries. According to the nomination, Winemiller is one of the most highly cited researchers within the Texas A&M University System and is globally recognized for his research on the ecology of fish and aquatic ecosystems and applications of ecological science to fisheries management and conservation. He has received more than $19 million in research grants, and 15 of his research papers have been cited in literature more than 100 times, according to the nomination. His 1992 publication on fish life history strategies and population regulation has been cited more than 1,000 times, has inspired similar research of fishes globally, and continues to serve as a model for understanding functional traits in species assemblages with applications to management.

Ecological Society of America names Texas A&M’s Dr. Kirk Winemiller a 2018 Fellow

Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu

Contact: Dr. Kirk Winemiller, 979-862-4020, k-winemiller@tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION – The Ecological Society of America recently announced its 2018 Fellows and among them was Dr. Kirk Winemiller, Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist and Regents Professor in the department of wildlife and fisheries sciences at Texas A&M University, College Station.

Winemiller was among 28 Fellows and seven Early Career Fellows, and the only Texan to receive the honor, according to a news release distributed by the society.

“The society’s fellowship program recognizes the many ways in which its members contribute to ecological research and discovery, communication, education and pedagogy (deals with teaching theory or practice), and management and policy,” the release said.

“Fellows are members who have made outstanding contributions to a wide range of fields served by the Ecological Society of America, including, but not restricted to, those that advance or apply ecological knowledge in academics, government, non-profit organizations and the broader society,” and are elected for life, according to the release.

Winemiller was elected for his outstanding research on rivers, estuaries and fish ecology and evolution, involving field sites throughout the Americas, Africa and Asia and for his advice to agencies on freshwater resource science and policy.    

Winemiller earned his doctorate in zoology from the University of Texas, Austin, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees, also in zoology, from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He started his career with Texas A&M in 1992 as an assistant professor in the department of wildlife and fisheries, ultimately being named a full professor in 2002 and a Regents Professor in 2009.

He has earned many accolades during his tenure, among the more recent being named a Faculty Fellow by Texas A&M AgriLife Research; Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award for International Impact, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M; Distinguished Achievement Award for Research, Association of Former Students, Texas A&M; Special Recognition in Fisheries Work and Outstanding Fisheries Research Award, Texas Chapter American Fisheries Society; and Bush Excellence Award for Faculty International Teaching, Texas A&M. In 2007 he was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Ecological Society of America is a professional organization of ecological scientists that established its Fellows program in 2012 “with the goal of honoring its members and supporting their competitiveness and advancement to leadership positions in the society, at their institutions and in broader society,” the press release reported.

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2016 Regional Recovery Champions

Dr. Lopez with FWS personnel and a curious deer. Photo by USFWS.

Led by Dr. Nova J. Silvy, Regents Professor, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University and Dr. Roel R. Lopez, Director, Natural Resources Institute, Texas A&M University.

The Texas A&M University Key Deer Team is recognized both for its extraordinary efforts towards recovery of the endangered Key deer, and also its participation in the protective management of the Key deer during the New World screwworm incident. The team contributed to recovery of the Key deer population by providing a greater understanding of the species abundance, population dynamics, and viability. It also was largely responsible for translocation effort that re-established populations on Cudjoe and Sugarloaf Keys. This led to an expansion of the overall population that now includes most of the historical range of the Key deer, adding redundancy and increasing representation throughout the population.

Most recently the Texas A&M University team proved invaluable to the Service during the screwworm incident. The team made it their top priority to provide the Service with the necessary information and guidance needed to respond to the NWS incident. Their dedication and almost 70 years of combined experience have helped bring the Key deer population to its current improved status.

TAMU Key Deer Team, USFWS Partner

Dr. Lacher receives Clinton Award

Dr. Thomas Lacher, Jr., Professor in WFSC, recently was the recipient of a Dr. Kenneth Clinton International Study Abroad Educations Program Award. These are awarded Texas A&M system wide and were presented at a ceremony at Texas A&M-Commerce on April 20th.