Angling for Data on Michigan Fishes

Karen Alofs is an Assistant Professor in the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. Her research focuses on understanding the impacts of environmental changes, including species invasions and climate change, on fish communities. She believes that understanding historical transitions will help us to predict and manage future impacts.

Andrea Thomer is an assistant professor of information. She conducts interdisciplinary research in the areas of scientific data curation and data practices; "science of science" -- "meta" examinations of how scientific research gets done; and computer supported cooperative work in scholarly research settings. She is especially interested in long-term data curation and infrastructure sustainability -- on the scale of decades rather than just years; the creation and application of data and metadata standards; the impact of information organization and structure on information use; and issues of data provenance, reproducibility, and integration.

Randy Singer is an assistant research scientist and collection manager for the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Fish Collection. Along with the curator, Hernan Lopez-Fernandez, he is responsible for overseeing the day to day operations, policies and best practices, and research and educational uses of the collection. His current research focuses on systematics, ecology and biogeography of deep sea fishes and natural history collection best practices. He is confident that strong linkages between the natural history community and other disciplines and communities fosters strong, holistic research that can help us to better understand the natural world.

Kevin Wehrly is a fisheries research biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Institute for Fisheries Research and an adjunct assistant professor in the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. His research focuses on understanding how large-scale factors such as geology, land use, and climate change affect fish communities; monitoring and assessment of fish populations and aquatic habitats; and developing models, classifications, and web-based tools to aid management decisions and conservation planning. He is interested in the history of fisheries management and environmental change and how lessons from the past can inform current and future management decision-making.

Hernan Lopez-Fernandez is Associate Professor, Curator of Fishes and Associate Chair of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology museums, comprising the Museum of Zoology and Herbarium. His research focuses on the evolutionary origin of freshwater fish diversity and the role of ecology in driving adaptation in fishes from the Neotropical region of South and Central America. He is particularly interested in the use of data and specimens from natural history collections in understanding biodiversity changes across temporal and geographic scales.

Katelyn King is a postdoctoral research fellow in the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. Her research focuses on how lakes and streams interact with each other and the landscape to understand patterns of fish biodiversity and how those patterns might change with changes in land use and climate. She believes using contemporary and historical datasets are integral to predicting how freshwater fishes might respond to global change and therefore, help us to conserve them.

Michael Lenard is a project manager and research assistant for Andrea Thomer’s Lab, with Master's degrees in chemistry and information science from the University of Michigan. He is interested in issues involving the complex interface between information institutions and scientific research. He seeks ways to promote understanding, improved communication, and more effective collaboration between those who collect and use scientific research data and those who curate, maintain, and preserve it. He hopes to contribute in some way to developing more cohesive, open, and equitable scientific practices.

Justin Schell is the Director of the Shapiro Design Lab, a peer and engaged learning community in the University of Michigan Library. As part of his work in the Design Lab, he facilitates a number of community and citizen science projects, including the use of open source hardware with environmental justice community advocates, online crowdsourcing projects through the Zooniverse platform, and projects that increase the availability and accessibility of environmental data. In addition to his work at the Design Lab, he is a filmmaker, visual artist, and podcast producer.

Faye Polasek is a current undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. Her academic interests include library sciences and information technology. She has pursued research on natural science data curation and management as well as library systems and data reuse at a variety of levels. She is pursuing a bachelor of arts in cognitive science with a focus on cognition and decision, hoping to engage in future studies and research on the intersection of decision and the information sciences.

Calla Beers is a recent University of Michigan Graduate with bachelor degrees in art and design and environmental science with a specialization in aquatic resources. Her research has focused on environmental change in aquatic ecosystems, especially within the Great Lakes region and Michigan. She is also interested in utilizing art as a means of extending scientific discourse and to help foster inclusivity and accessibility.

Kartik Tharwani is a current undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. His academic interests are centered around the biological sciences and their many sub-specialities including cellular biology, molecular biology, and biotechnology. He is pursuing a 5 year B.S./M.S. program in cellular and molecular biology and biomedical engineering in order to receive an integrated program of study and training in the fields of science and engineering. He also aspires to continue pursuing research in order to gain valuable skills and experience that will make a positive impact towards the growth and development of our society.