Mark Wildhaber, Ph.D.

Mark has worked at USGS, Columbia Environment Research Cener since 1997.  His major responsibilities include research in all areas of aquatic ecology, fish biology, behavioral ecology, ecological modeling, and climate change in understanding for and support of conservation and recovery efforts. His expertise includes: at-risk, threatened, and endangered fishes, reproductive ecology, bioenergetics and population, community, and ecosystem modeling and forecasting, population monitoring and experiment designs, and Bayesian and non-Bayesian approaches to analyzing fisheries data. Mark's research includes reproductive behavior and physiology and abiotic and biotic requirements for reproductive success of commercially valuable and/or federally-listed as threatened or endangered fishes; effects of heavy metals and acidic contamination on riverine ecosystems; effects of water management on the benthic fish community of riverine ecosystems; effects of organic and inorganic contamination on aquatic benthic invertebrate communities; and spatial and temporal hierarchical fish population modeling using spatially-explicit individual-based models that incorporate bioenergetics, foraging theory, and other models of habitat choice under varying environmental conditions in the context of global climate to guide conservation and recovery efforts.

Education

Ph.D. Zoology and Biomathematics, Southeast Missouri State University 1989

M.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Science, Southeast Missouri State University 1985

B.S. Zoology and Mathematics, Minor in Chemistry, Southeast Missouri State University 1981

Professional Experience

1997-present Research Ecologist/Quantitative Ecology Section Leader, USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center

1991-1997 Statistician, USFWS/NBS National Fisheries Contaminant Research Center

1989-1991Research Associate and Tutor, Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University 

1983-1989 Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University

1981-1983 Teaching Assistant, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Texas A&M University

1979 Laboratory Assistant, Department of Biology, Southeast Missouri State University

Affiliations

2009-present Member, World Sturgeon Conservation Society

2002-present Fellow, American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists

1993-present Member, North Central Division of the American Fisheries Society

1993-1994 Continuing Education Coordinator, North Central Division of the American Fisheries Society

1993-present Member, Missouri Chapter of the American Fisheries Society

1993-1995 Continuing Education Coordinator, Missouri Chapter of the American Fisheries Society

1990-present Member, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

1988-present Member, Animal Behavior Society

2004-present Member,  Conservation Committee, Animal Behavior Society

1984-present, Member, American Fisheries Society

1994-1995 Member Publications Award Committee, American Fisheries Society

1994-1998 Associate Editor, The Progressive Fish Culturist, American Fisheries Society