David B Bunnell
Biography
I am a Research Fishery Biologist at the Great Lakes Science Center, and Associate Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan. I am the Principal Investigator (PI) for multiple projects that study community and ecosystem-level processes within the Great Lakes and at the global scale. In short, my research seeks to understand the ecological factors (e.g., resources, climate, predation) that can explain or predict fish biomass, consistent with an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries science and management.
Education
Ph.D. 2002. The Ohio State University; Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Columbus, OH. Dissertation Title: “Exploring mechanisms regulating recruitment of white crappie in Ohio reservoirs.”
M.S. 1997. Clemson University; Fisheries Biology, Clemson, SC. Thesis title: “Diel movement of brown trout in a southern Appalachian river.”
B.S. 1995. Centre College, Magna cum laude; Biology, Danville, KY.
Professional Experience
October 2004 – present. Research Fishery Biologist, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
August 2003 – October 2004. Assistant Research Scientist, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons, Maryland.
August 2002 – August 2003. Post-doctoral researcher, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Wheatley, Ontario.
July 1997 – December 2002. Graduate Research Associate, Ohio State University, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Columbus, Ohio.
July 1995 – May 1997. Graduate Research Associate, Clemson University Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Clemson, SC.
Publications
Science and Products
Improving National Estimates of Inland Recreational Harvest Using State Angler Survey Data
Recreational fishing dominates inland fisheries in the United States. In 2016 alone, more than 30.1 million Americans identified as freshwater anglers and spent nearly $30 billion on freshwater fishing trips. While recreational freshwater fishing can be catch-and-release, a large portion is consumptive. In fact, evidence suggests that recreational fisheries yield more than ten times that of...
Webinar: Predicted Climate Change Effects on Fisheries Habitat and Production in the Great Lakes
View this webinar to learn more about fisheries management in the Great Lakes.
Forecasting Climate Change Induced Effects on Recreational and Commercial Fish Populations in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes fishery managers and stakeholders have little information regarding how climate change could affect the management and conservation of fish populations, including those of high recreational and commercial value. Scientists from the US Geological Survey (USGS) worked closely with state management agencies and the National Wildlife Federation to complete several objectives that...
A synthesis of the biology and ecology of sculpin species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and implications for the adaptive capacity of the benthic ecosystem
The Laurentian Great Lakes have experienced recent ecosystem changes that could lead to reductions in adaptive capacity and ultimately a loss of biodiversity and production throughout the food web. Observed changes in Great Lakes benthic communities include declines of native species and widespread success of invasive species like dreissenid...
Robinson, Kelly F.; Bronte, Charles R.; Bunnell, David; Euclide, Peter T.; Hondorp, Darryl W.; Janssen, John J.; Kornis, Matthew S.; Ogle, Derek H.; Otte, Will; Riley, Stephen; Vinson, Mark; Volkel, Shea L.; Weidel, Brian C. Piscivory in recovering Lake Michigan Cisco (Coregonus artedi): The role of invasive species
Contemporary conditions in Lake Michigan where cisco (Coregonus artedi) populations are expanding are vastly different from those encountered by the historic fish community. Invasive species introductions have substantially altered the Lake Michigan ecosystem in the last half century. Successful management efforts for cisco in Lake Michigan hinge...
Breaker, Ben S; Pangle, Kevin L.; Donner, Kevin; Smith, Jason; Turschak, Benjamin A.; Claramunt, Randall M.; Bunnell, David; Jonas, Jory L. Describing historical habitat use of a native fish-Cisco (Coregonus artedi)-In Lake Michigan between 1930 and 1932
With the global-scale loss of biodiversity, current restoration programs have been often required as part of conservation plans for species richness and ecosystem integrity. The restoration of pelagic-oriented cisco (Coregonus artedi) has been an interest of Lake Michigan managers because it may increase the diversity and resilience of the fish...
Kao, Yu-Chun; Bunnell, David; Eshenroder, Randy L.; Murray, Devin N. Spatiotemporal patterns in trophic niche overlap among five salmonines in Lake Michigan, USA
Native lake trout and introduced Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, and brown trout are major predators in Lake Michigan’s complex ecosystem and collectively support a valuable recreational fishery, but declines in their primary prey, alewife, have raised ecological and management concerns about competition and prey allocation. We applied...
Kornis, Matthew S.; Bunnell, David B.; Swanson, Heidi K.; Bronte, Charles R. Spatiotemporal variability in energetic condition of alewife and round goby in Lake Michigan
Pelagic-oriented alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and benthic-oriented round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) are two important prey fishes in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In 2015, we evaluated their seasonal total energy (TE) across nine Lake Michigan transects. Round goby contained at least 48% more kilojoules of TE than alewife of equal length during...
Bunnell, David; Pothoven, Steven A.; Armenio, Patricia; Eaton, Lauren A.; Warner, David; Elgin, Ashley K.; Burlakova, Lyuba E.; Karatayev, Alexander Y. Densities, diets, and growth rates of larval Alewife and Bloater in a changing Lake Michigan ecosystem.
Variability in abiotic and biotic factors during larval stages has profound impacts on fish recruitment. In Lake Michigan, where the composition of lower trophic levels has undergone considerable changes in the past decade, managers are concerned that fish recruitment could be negatively affected. We hypothesized that spatial variation in Lake...
Eppehimer, Drew E; Bunnell, David; Armenio, Patricia; Warner, David; Eaton, Lauren A.; Wells, David J; Rutherford, Edward S. Spatial patterns of rainbow smelt energetic condition in Lakes Huron and Erie in 2017: Evidence for Lake Huron resource limitation
Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) is a key planktivore and prey fish in Lake Huron. Given the declining offshore productivity in the lake since the early 2000s, we described the energy content of rainbow smelt in 2017 across five different regions (North Channel, Georgian Bay, Saginaw Bay, northern main basin, southern main basin) where phytoplankton...
Dai, Qihong; Bunnell, David; Diana, James S.; Pothoven, Steven A.; Eaton, Lauren A.; O'Brien, Timothy P.; Kraus, Richard Evidence for interactions among environmental stressors in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Co-occurrence of environmental stressors is ubiquitous in ecosystems, but cumulative effects are difficult to predict for effective indicator development. Individual stressors can amplify (synergies) or lessen (antagonisms) each other's impacts or have fully independent effects (additive). Here we use the Laurentian Great Lakes, where a multitude...
Smith, Sigrid D. P.; Bunnell, David B.; Burton, G.A.; Ciborowski, Jan J. H.; Davidson, Alisha D.; Dickinson, Caitlin E.; Eaton, Lauren A.; Esselman, Peter C.; Evans, Mary Anne; Kashian, Donna R.; Manning, Nathan F.; McIntyre, Peter B.; Nalepa, Thomas F.; Perez-Fuentetaja, Alicia; Steinman, Alan D.; Uzarski, Donald G.; Allan, J. David Food‐web structure and ecosystem function in the Laurentian Great Lakes—Toward a conceptual model
The relationship between food‐web structure (i.e., trophic connections, including diet, trophic position, and habitat use, and the strength of these connections) and ecosystem functions (i.e., biological, geochemical, and physical processes in an ecosystem, including decomposition, production, nutrient cycling, and nutrient and energy flows among...
Ives, Jessica T.; McMeans, Bailey C.; McCann, Kevin S.; Fisk, Aaron T.; Johnson, Timothy B.; Bunnell, David B.; Frank, Kenneth T.; Muir, Andrew M. Describing the distribution and productivity of biota along a nearshore to offshore gradient
The Lake Michigan Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP) proposed adding nutrients (phosphorus) to its “pollutant of concern” list in 2002, given that excessive nutrients were causing impairments in nearshore waters. Since that time, scientists have highlighted the “shunting” of nutrients to the nearshore (Hecky et al. 2004), owing to the...
Bunnell, David B.; Armenio, Patricia M.; Warner, David M.; Eaton, Lauren A.; Eppehimer, Drew Are changes in lower trophic levels limiting prey-fish biomass and production in Lake Michigan?
To improve understanding of how recent changes in lower trophic levels in Lake Michigan could be affecting prey-fish biomass and production, the Lake Michigan Committee (LMC) convened a Lower Trophic Level Task Group and provided several charges that are responded to in this report. First, we compiled a comprehensive summary of lower trophiclevel...
Bunnell, David B.; Carrick, Hunter J.; Madenjian, Charles P.; Rutherford, Edward S.; Vanderploeg, Henry A.; Barbiero, Richard P.; Hinchey-Malloy, Elizabeth; Pothoven, Steven A.; Riseng, Catherine M.; Claramunt, Randall M.; Bootsma, Harvey A.; Elgin, Ashley; Rowe, Mark; Thomas, Sara; Turschak, Benjamin A.; Czesny, Sergiusz J.; Pangle, Kevin; Warner, David M. Evaluating stocking efficacy in an ecosystem undergoing oligotrophication
Oligotrophication has negatively affected fisheries production in many freshwater ecosystems and could conceivably reduce the efficacy of stockings used to enhance fisheries. In Lake Michigan, offshore oligotrophication has occurred since the 1970s, owing to reductions in total phosphorus (TP) inputs and nearshore sequestration of TP by...
Kao, Yu-Chun; Rogers, Mark W.; Bunnell, David B.
Bunnell interviewed on Lake Michigan smelt fishery
Lake Michigan Smelt Fishery
Bunnell speaks at Lake Michigan Illinois DNR public meeting
The Effect of Environmental Changes on Prey Fish in Lake Michigan.
Changing Tides: Lake Michigan Could Best Support Lake Trout and Steelhead
Invasive mussels and less nutrients from tributaries have altered the Lake Michigan ecosystem making it more conducive to the stocking of lake trout and steelhead than Chinook salmon, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey and Michigan State University study.