The Ohio Lake Erie Commission has awarded a $15,000 grant to a UT doctoral student researching yellow perch.
Doctoral student Nate Manning conducts research on yellow perch at the UT Lake Erie Center.
The funding will go toward Manning’s ongoing research analyzing the relationship between recent land-use alterations in the Maumee River watershed and fluctuations in the growth and abundance of yellow perch in the western basin of Lake Erie.
“My research does not just impact the local fisherman in the area, but also impacts the entire region and changes in agriculture,” Manning said. “The UT Lake Erie Center has had great success in the past with this grant, and I hope my ongoing research will provide insight into how changes on land can affect changes in the lake.”
Manning’s research utilizes both historical records and current satellite imagery to create computer models that link these data to the differences in Lake Erie and the perch population.
He works closely with his supervisors, Dr. Christine Mayer and Dr. Jon Bossenbroek, both UT associate professors of environmental sciences.
“His dissertation is quite the undertaking in regard to time and effort,” said Bossenbroek, who was assigned the principal investigator on the project. “He has worked very hard to earn his PhD, and all of his work has been completed in an admirable way.”
