Mississippi People

Leandro Miranda Assistant Unit Leader Email: smiranda@cfr.msstate.edu Website: http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/wildlife/people/faculty_detail.asp?id=21&persID=409 Tel: (662) 325 - 3217

Hal Schramm Unit Leader Email: hschramm@cfr.msstate.edu Tel: (662) 325 - 7495

Fisheries researcher, teacher, fisheries and aquatic resource communicator

Francisco Vilella Assistant Unit Leader Email: fvilella@cfr.msstate.edu Website: http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/wildlife/people/faculty_detail.asp?id=29&persID=408 Tel: (662) 325 - 0784

http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/wildlife/people/faculty_detail.asp?id=29&persID=408

Annice Hill Accountant Email: chill@cfr.msstate.edu

Michelle Tehan Administrative Assistant Email: mtehan@cfr.msstate.edu

Caroline Andrews Email: candrews@cfr.msstate.edu

Caroline is a native of Matthews, NC. She received a BS in Zoology from North Carolina State University in December 2010. She is studying water quality and fish interaction in oxbow lakes.

Tony Chen Email: chuisheng@hotmail.com Tel: (479) 856 - 9151

Tony is a native of Taiwan. He holds a B.S. in Natural Resources Management from the National University of Taipei and M.S. in Biological Sciences from Arkansas State University working on the Formosan Crested Goshawk. For his dissertation he is studying movements and resource selection of sympatric forest pigeons in Puerto Rico.

Jonah Dagel Email: jdagel@cfr.msstate.edu

Jonah is a native of Minnesota. He graduated in December 2007 from South Dakota State University. His research focuses on crappie recruitment in reservoirs.

Rob DeVries Email: rjd155@msstate.edu

I obtained my B.S. in marine biology from the College of Charleston in 1998 and then went to work for the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources working on nearshore faunal surveys. In 2006, I completed my M.S. thesis entitled “Population dynamics, movements, and spawning habitat of the shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum, in the Altamaha River system, Georgia” at the University of Georgia after which I went to work for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a lake manager on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. My research interests include fisheries management, age-growth, life history, and endangered fish species. After completing my Ph.D., I hope to land a research/teaching position where I can continue pursuing my research interests.

James Feaga Email: Jfeaga@cfr.msstate.edu

Jim is a native of McSherrystown, Pennsylvania. He received a a B. S. degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences in 2011 from Pennsylvania State University. His M.S. research focuses on wintering waterbird use of production and non-production aquaculture sites in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.

Justyn Foth Email: jfoth@cfr.msstate.edu

Native of O'Fallon, Missouri, Justyn holds a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from the University of Missouri and M.S. in Wldlife Science from Mississippi State University. Dissertation research focuses on migratory shorebirds in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and Gulf Coast.

Julio Gallardo Email: jgallardo@cfr.msstate.edu

A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Julio has worked as a field ornithologists, raptor biologist, and bird tour guide operator. Julio holds a B.S. degree in biology from the Universidad Veracruzana and M.S. degree in behavioral ecology from the Universidad Veracruzana. Julio's dissertation research focuses on the population and spatial ecology of raptors in Puerto Rico.

Jay Herrala Email: jrh646@msstate.edu

I grew up in the small rural town of Windsor, VA and was essentially raised in an outdoor setting. The majority of my time was and still is spent outdoors whether it involved work or recreational time. I received my B.S. in fisheries science in 2009 from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. I knew early on that I wanted to pursue a graduate degree in the same field, and I decided to continue my education at Mississippi State University. I am currently studying pallid sturgeon movement and habitat selection in the lower Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers. My research interests include large river and stream ecology, endangered species management and research, small impoundment management, reservoir management, and freshwater fish ecology. I am currently writing my thesis and plan on completing my M.S. in the near future. Additionally, I am actively searching for a fisheries biologist position in the southeast.

Levi Kaczka Email: ljk65@msstate.edu

Levi is a native of Pittsburg, PA. He graduated from California University, PA in May 2011. His research deals with crappie habitat in reservoirs.

Rebecca Krogman Email: rebecca.krogman@gmail.com

Rebecca is a native of Pella, IA. She received a BS from Iowa State University in May 2010. She is currently a SCEP student with USFWS and is reserching reservoir habitat in US reservoirs.

Nathan Kuntz Email: nkuntz@cfr.msstate.edu

Nathan is from Bismarck, ND, son of Bob and Rosemarie Kuntz. He has been married to his beautiful wife Valerie since July 2010. Nathan received his B.S. degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University in May 2009. In June 20009 Nathan begun his graduate work at Mississippi State University under the direction of Dr. Hal Schramm. His thesis research is focused on trawl efficiency for juvenile pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon. His research interests include large rivers, endangered species, fisheries management, and population dynamics. His free time is spent playing sports, reading, fishing, and hunting with his dog, Sander.

Ethan Mower Email: mow08003@byui.edu

Ethan is a native of New Mexico. He graduated from Brigham Young University – Idaho in May 2011. He is researching water management policy in USACE reservoirs.

Jared Porter Email: jmp653@msstate.edu

I earned a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, graduating in May 2011. My fisheries experience as an undergraduate included working on reintroduction of turquoise darters into Piedmont streams. I also spent 3 months as a Student Conservation Intern in Shenandoah National Park, assessing stream health and assisting in the park’s fish sampling program. For two years I worked with channel catfish and tilapia as an employee at the Clemson University Aquaculture Center. My research interests include fisheries conservation in lotic systems, and the conservation of endangered and threatened freshwater fish in the United States. Currently, my thesis includes the assessment of the effects that hydrologic conditions have on age and growth of pallid and shovelnose sturgeon. After graduate school, I intend to work as a fisheries biologist in the Southeastern United States.

Bradley Strickland Email: bastrickland@cfr.msstate.edu

Native of Cedartown, Georgia, Bradley obtained his B.S. in Biology from Berry College in 2011. His M.S. research focuses on population estimation and spatial dynamics of the American alligator in inland rivers of Mississippi.

Matthew Wegener Email: mattwegener@gmail.com

Skyler Wigen Email: skylerwigen@gmail.com

Sky is a native of Spencer, IA. He graduated in December 2007 from Iowa State University. His research focuses on fish assemblages in reservoir backwaters.

James Young Email: jty35@msstate.edu

I earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fisheries Science from Virginia Tech in May 2011. As an undergrad I completed two research projects working with spawning habitat for brook trout and white suckers. From these projects I developed an interest in conserving native fishes in freshwater systems. For my Master’s project I am researching how movement patterns of pallid sturgeon relate to their age and sexual maturity in the lower Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers. Upon completing my Master’s degree I plan to serve as a Fisheries Biologist and continue working with native species here in the southeast.