Fish Ecology and Conservation
Chad W. Hargrave, Assistant Professor

My research is aimed at understanding the role fishes play in regulating aquatic ecosystem processes and functions, and how these fish-mediated effects might vary in a changing environment. I currently am experimentally testing and modeling how a warmer climate, altered land use patterns, and changes in the composition of fish communities may alter the way aquatic ecosystems function. My lab is gaining some novel insight into the processes regulating efficient functioning of aquatic ecosystem, and has lead to a variety of hypotheses relating increasing water temperature, deforestation and invasive fishes to changes in ecosystems. REU students working under my direction will be encourage to build upon this foundation by asking questions and designing experiments aimed at testing the influence of environmental change on the interactions among fishes in aquatic ecosystems.

For more information on this REU opportunity, please e-mail Dr. Hargrave at cwhargrave@shsu.edu.