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
Openness to the unexpected: Our Pathways to Careers in a Federal Research Laboratory.
Many fisheries professionals may not be in the job they originally envisioned for themselves when they began their undergraduate studies. Rather, their current positions could be the result of unexpected, opportunistic, or perhaps even “lucky” open doors that led them down an unexpected path. In many cases, a mentor helped facilitate...
Taylor, William W.; Lynch, Abigail J.; Léonard, Nancy J.; Newman, Kurt R.; Bunnell, David B.; Hondorp, Darryl W. Gastric evacuation rate, index of fullness, and daily ration of Lake Michigan slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) and deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsonii)
Accurate estimates of fish consumption are required to understand trophic interactions and facilitate ecosystem-based fishery management. Despite their importance within the food-web, no method currently exists to estimate daily consumption for Great Lakes slimy (Cottus cognatus) and deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsonii). We conducted...
Mychek-Londer, Justin G.; Bunnell, David B.
A conceptual framework for Lake Michigan coastal/nearshore ecosystems, with application to Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) objectives
The Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs) within the Great Lakes region are examples of broad-scale, collaborative resource-management efforts that require a sound ecosystems approach. Yet, the LaMP process is lacking a holistic framework that allows these individual actions to be planned and understood within the broader context of the Great Lakes...
Seelbach, Paul W.; Fogarty, Lisa R.; Bunnell, David Bo; Haack, Sheridan K.; Rogers, Mark W. Using diets to reveal overlap and egg predation among benthivorous fishes in Lake Michigan
Ecological stability in the Laurentian Great Lakes has been altered by nonindigenous species, such as the Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus and dreissenid mussels, and by declines in native amphipods Diporeia spp. We evaluated whether these changes could influence diet overlap between three benthivorous fishes (Slimy Sculpin Cottus cognatus,...
Mychek-Londer, Justin G.; Bunnell, David B.; Stott, Wendylee; Diana, James S.; French, John R. P.; Chriscinske, Margret Chinook salmon foraging patterns in a changing Lake Michigan
Since Pacific salmon stocking began in Lake Michigan, managers have attempted to maintain salmon abundance at high levels within what can be sustained by available prey fishes, primarily Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus. Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha are the primary apex predators in pelagic Lake Michigan and patterns in their prey selection...
Jacobs, Gregory R.; Madenjian, Charles P.; Bunnell, David B.; Warner, David M.; Claramunt, Randall M. Context-dependent planktivory: interacting effects of turbidity and predation risk on adaptive foraging
By shaping species interactions, adaptive phenotypic plasticity can profoundly influence ecosystems. Predicting such outcomes has proven difficult, however, owing in part to the dependence of plasticity on the environmental context. Of particular relevance are environmental factors that affect sensory performance in organisms in ways that alter...
Pangle, Kevin L.; Malinich, Timothy D.; Bunnell, David B.; DeVries, Dennis R.; Ludsin, Stuart A. Seasonal zooplankton dynamics in Lake Michigan: disentangling impacts of resource limitation, ecosystem engineering, and predation during a critical ecosystem transition
We examined seasonal dynamics of zooplankton at an offshore station in Lake Michigan from 1994 to 2003 and 2007 to 2008. This period saw variable weather, declines in planktivorous fish abundance, the introduction and expansion of dreissenid mussels, and a slow decline in total phosphorus concentrations. After the major expansion of mussels into...
Vanderploeg, Henry A.; Pothoven, Steven A.; Fahnenstiel, Gary L.; Cavaletto, Joann F.; Liebig, James R.; Stow, Craig Stow; Nalepa, Thomas F.; Madenjian, Charles P.; Bunnell, David B. Comparing seasonal dynamics of the Lake Huron zooplankton community between 1983-1984 and 2007 and revisiting the impact of Bythotrephes planktivory
Zooplankton community composition can be influenced by lake productivity as well as planktivory by fish or invertebrates. Previous analyses based on long-term Lake Huron zooplankton data from August reported a shift in community composition between the 1980s and 2000s: proportional biomass of calanoid copepods increased while that of cyclopoid...
Bunnell, David B.; Keeler, Kevin M.; Puchala, Elizabeth A.; Davis, Bruce M.; Pothoven, Steven A. Energy density of bloaters in the upper Great Lakes
We evaluated the energy density of bloaters Coregonus hoyi as a function of fish size across Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior in 2008–2009 and assessed how differences in energy density are related to factors such as biomass density of bloaters and availability of prey. Additional objectives were to compare energy density between sexes and to...
Pothoven, Steven A.; Bunnell, David B.; Madenjian, Charles P.; Gorman, Owen T.; Roseman, Edward F. Exploring mechanisms underlying sex-specific differences in mortality of Lake Michigan bloaters
Sex-specific differences in mortality rates have been observed among freshwater and marine fish taxa, and underlying mechanisms can include sex-specific differences in (1) age at maturity, (2) growth rate, or (3) activity or behavior during the spawning period. We used a long-term (1973–2009) Lake Michigan data set to evaluate whether there were...
Bunnell, D.B.; Madenjian, C.P.; Rogers, M.W.; Holuszko, J.D.; Begnoche, L.J. Planktivory in the changing Lake Huron zooplankton community: Bythotrephes consumption exceeds that of Mysis and fish
Oligotrophic lakes are generally dominated by calanoid copepods because of their competitive advantage over cladocerans at low prey densities. Planktivory also can alter zooplankton community structure. We sought to understand the role of planktivory in driving recent changes to the zooplankton community of Lake Huron, a large oligotrophic lake on...
Bunnell, D.B.; Hunter, R. Douglas; Warner, D.M.; Chriscinske, M.A.; Roseman, E.F. Diet of lake trout and burbot in northern Lake Michigan during spring: Evidence of ecological interaction
We used analyses of burbot (Lota lota) and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) diets taken during spring gill-net surveys in northern Lake Michigan in 2006-2008 to investigate the potential for competition and predator-prey interactions between these two species. We also compared our results to historical data from 1932. During 2006-2008, lake trout...
Jacobs, Gregory R.; Madenjian, Charles P.; Bunnell, David B.; Holuszko, Jeffrey D.