David B Bunnell, PhD
David "Bo" Bunnell is a Research Fishery Biologist based in Ann Arbor, MI.
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.
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
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 2002. The Ohio State University; Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Columbus, OH
M.S. 1997. Clemson University; Fisheries Biology, Clemson, SC
B.S. 1995. Centre College, Magna cum laude; Biology, Danville, KY
Science and Products
Science pages by this scientist
Spatial and temporal distributions of Dreissena spp. veligers in Lake Huron: Does calcium limit settling success?
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
A century of intermittent eco‐evolutionary feedbacks resulted in novel trait combinations in invasive Great Lakes alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus)
Piscivory in recovering Lake Michigan Cisco (Coregonus artedi): The role of invasive species
Effects of climate and land-use changes on fish catches across lakes at a global scale
InFish: A professional network to promote global conservation and responsible use of inland fish
Describing historical habitat use of a native fish-Cisco (Coregonus artedi)-In Lake Michigan between 1930 and 1932
Spatiotemporal patterns in trophic niche overlap among five salmonines in Lake Michigan, USA
Spatiotemporal variability in energetic condition of alewife and round goby in Lake Michigan
Densities, diets, and growth rates of larval Alewife and Bloater in a changing Lake Michigan ecosystem.
Spatial patterns of rainbow smelt energetic condition in Lakes Huron and Erie in 2017: Evidence for Lake Huron resource limitation
Status and trends of prey fish populations in Lake Michigan, 2018
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Filter Total Items: 53
Spatial and temporal distributions of Dreissena spp. veligers in Lake Huron: Does calcium limit settling success?
The larval stage of invasive Dreissena spp. mussels (i.e., veligers) are understudied despite their seasonal numerical dominance among plankton. We report the spring and summer veliger densities and size structure across the main basin, North Channel, and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, and seek to explain spatiotemporal variation. Monthly sampling was conducted at 9 transects and up to 3 sites per trAuthorsDarren S. Kirkendall, David Bunnell, Patricia Dieter, Lauren A. Eaton, Anett S Trebitz, Nicole M WatsonA 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 mussels in all but Lake Superior. Understanding the ecolAuthorsKelly F. Robinson, Charles R. Bronte, David Bunnell, Peter T. Euclide, Darryl W. Hondorp, John J. Janssen, Matthew S. Kornis, Derek H. Ogle, Will Otte, Stephen Riley, Mark Vinson, Shea L. Volkel, Brian C. WeidelA century of intermittent eco‐evolutionary feedbacks resulted in novel trait combinations in invasive Great Lakes alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus)
Species introductions provide opportunities to quantify rates and patterns of evolutionary change in response to novel environments. Alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) are native to the East Coast of North America where they ascend coastal rivers to spawn in lakes and then return to the ocean. Some populations have become landlocked within the last 350 years and diverged phenotypically from their ancAuthorsShelby Smith, Eric Palkovacs, Brian C. Weidel, David Bunnell, Andrew W. Jones, Devin BloomPiscivory 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 on our ability to understand their contemporary ecoAuthorsBen S Breaker, Kevin L. Pangle, Kevin Donner, Jason Smith, Benjamin A. Turschak, Randall M. Claramunt, David Bunnell, Jory L. JonasEffects of climate and land-use changes on fish catches across lakes at a global scale
Globally, our knowledge on lake fisheries is still limited despite their importance to food security and livelihoods. Here we show that fish catches can respond either positively or negatively to climate and land-use changes, by analyzing time-series data (1970–2014) for 31 lakes across five continents. We find that effects of a climate or land-use driver (e.g., air temperature) on lake environmenAuthorsY. Kao, Mark W. Rogers, David Bunnell, I. G. Cowx, S. S. Qian, O. Anneville, T. Douglas Beard, A. Brinker, J. R. Britton, R. Chura-Crusz, N. J. Gownaris, J. R. Jackson, K. Kangur, J. Kolding, A.A. Lukin, Abigail Lynch, N. Mercado-Silva, R. Moncayo-Estrada, F. J. Njaya, I. Ostrovsky, L.G. Rudstam, A. L. E. Sandström, Y. Sato, Humberto Siguayro-Mamani, A. Thorpe, P. A. M. van Zwieten, P. Volta, Y. Q. Wang, A. Weiperth, O. L. F. Weyl, Joelle D. YoungInFish: A professional network to promote global conservation and responsible use of inland fish
Inland fishes and fisheries make substantial contributions to individuals, society, and the environment in a changing global landscape that includes climate, water allocations, and societal changes. However, current limitations to valuing the services provided by inland fish and their fisheries often leaves them out of key decision‐making discussions. InFish is a voluntary professional network witAuthorsAbigail J Lynch, Devin M. Bartley, T. Douglas Beard, David Bunnell, Steve J. Cooke, Ian. G. Cowx, Simon Funge-Smith, Craig Paukert, Mark W. Rogers, William W. TaylorDescribing 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 assemblages and conserve the integrity of the ecosystAuthorsYu-Chun Kao, David Bunnell, Randy L. Eshenroder, Devin N. MurraySpatiotemporal 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 niche overlap analysis to evaluate competition among sAuthorsMatthew S. Kornis, David B. Bunnell, Heidi K. Swanson, Charles R. BronteSpatiotemporal 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 spring and summer. TE varied spatially for both spAuthorsDavid Bunnell, Steven A. Pothoven, Patricia Dieter, Lauren A. Eaton, David Warner, Ashley K. Elgin, Lyuba E. Burlakova, Alexander Y. KaratayevDensities, 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 Michigan larval fish density and growth can be explainAuthorsDrew E Eppehimer, David Bunnell, Patricia Dieter, David Warner, Lauren A. Eaton, David J Wells, Edward S. RutherfordSpatial 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 and zooplankton productivity likely varied. To incAuthorsQihong Dai, David Bunnell, James S. Diana, Steven A. Pothoven, Lauren A. Eaton, Timothy P. O'Brien, Richard KrausStatus and trends of prey fish populations in Lake Michigan, 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center has conducted lake-wide surveys of the fish community in Lake Michigan each fall since 1973 using standard 12 m bottom trawls towed along contour at depths of 9 to 110 m at each of seven index transects. The survey provides relative abundance and biomass estimates between the 5 m and 114 m depth contours of the lake for prey fish populations,AuthorsDavid Bunnell, Charles P. Madenjian, Timothy J. Desorcie, Patricia Dieter, Jean V. Adams - News
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