Darryl W Hondorp, PhD

Darryl Hondorp is a research fisheries biologist with U.S. Geological Survey-Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  His main research interests include Great Lakes fish ecology, fish population dynamics, and behavioral ecology.  Darryl leads and directs USGS monitoring of Lake Huron’s demersal prey fish, which feed the sport fish that support a multimillion-dollar fishery.  Information generated by his team on the status of prey fish populations informs critical management decisions concerning harvest and stocking rates of sport fish and other predators.  His recent research on fish behavior has focused on the use of acoustic telemetry to improve understanding of migration, reproductive ecology, and demographics of native Great Lakes fish.  He is an expert in application of acoustic telemetry to basic and applied problems in fishery science and serves on the leadership team of the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System (GLATOS), the world’s largest freshwater acoustic telemetry network.  Based on a long-term study that employed acoustic transmitters with a ten-year battery life, Darryl and his team showed that Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) populations in Lakes Huron and Erie express multiple, distinct migration behaviors that potentially enable these prehistoric fish to adapt to unpredictable changes in their environment.  His research portfolio also includes studies focused on relationships between body form and ecological niche in native fish species, fish trophic ecology and ecological energetics, and mechanisms facilitating species coexistence in native fish communities.  Darryl’s research is multi-collaborative with a recent focus on projects that facilitate partnerships between USGS and tribal fishery biologists.