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Research Faculty, Staff and Students

This page contains brief biographies of the multifaceted individuals who make up the "Crew." It takes a unique combination of talents to achieve continued success, and that is exactly what these people have contributed.

Dr. Robert Cashner Professor Emeritus at the University of New Orleans and formerly the Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs for the University of New Orleans, also Dean of the Graduate School, Director of information Technology, and a Research Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. His research interests include systematics, ecology, and zoogeography of freshwater and marine fishes.

Dr. Martin O'Connell is the Director of the Nekton Research Laboratory, as well as Associate Chair and Graduate Coordinator for the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New Orleans. He is the principal investigator for our current Chandeleur Island, Lake Pontchartrain, and Bayou St. John/City Park fish surveys. He earned his Ph.D. from The University of Southern Mississippi where his dissertation research addressed the exploitation of inundated floodplains by fishes of low order, blackwater streams. His research interests include fish ecology, fish behavior, and the conservation of freshwater fishes and mussels.

Fish Assemblage Stability Over Fifty Years in the Lake Pontchartrain estuary; comparisons among habitats using canonical correspondence analysis. Application of a diffusion model to describe a recent invasion: Observations and insights concerning early stages of expansion for the introduced Rio Grande Cichlid

Chris Schieble "Chief" is the Senior Research Biologist for all the current research projects including, the Chandeleur Islands, Bayou St. John/City Park, and Lake Pontchartrain surveys. He has conducted field sampling for nekton, benthos and phytoplankton on Lake Pontchartrain since 1996, while completing over 2900 collections in that estuary. He earned his B.Sc. from The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1993 and his M.Sc. from UNO in 1998. His research interests include: life histories of freshwater and marine fishes, in particular the utilization of barrier islands by lemon sharks as nursery areas, hurricane impacts on saltwater seagrass fish assemblages, and temporal and spatial patterns of fish distribution in an estuary.

Use of hurricane generated wash-over corridors by fishes at the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana: preliminary data on potential ecological impacts and fish interactions FACTORS AFFECTING HIGH YIELDS OF FISHES IN DIURNAL AND NOCTURNAL TRAWLS OF THE LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN ESTUARY: GEAR AVOIDANCE AND NOCTURNAL BEHAVIOR. New occurrences of fishes in Lake Pontchartrain: a comparison with historical data over the last half-century Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan on the Fish and Invertebrate Assemblages in Seagrass Communities of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana.

Jon McKenzie is a Ph.D student in the Earth and Environmental Sciences
department. He earned a B.Sc in marine biology from the University of
North Carolina Wilmington with an emphasis on reef fish ecology. Jon
earned a Masters in natural resources from Delaware State University.
At DSU he studied the potential of a freshwater mussel (Elliptio
complanata) to be a biomechanical filter for aquaculture ponds. Here
at the University of New Orleans, Jon is investigating recent
observations of recently pupped lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris)
at the Chandeleur Islands. Using satellite tags and observational data
he hopes to determine if lemon sharks are using these islands as a
primary nursery area.

 

Sunny Brogan is a master's student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. She earned her B.Sc. from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2003. Sunny's thesis research investigates the spatial and temporal distribution of redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus) introduced into Bayou St. John, a semi-artificial water-body in the heart of New Orleans. To determine where the redfish are she tracks them using Vemco surgically implanted radio transmitters which transmit position data to moored receivers in various locations up and down the bayou. The goal of her research is to assess the ability of these introduced gamefish to survive in an urban fishery like Bayou St. John. Results from her research will help decide the direction of future management efforts within this system. Sunny's other interests include land loss issues in Louisiana and related impacts on local fisheries.
 
Scott Eustis is a Master's student in Earth and Environmental
Sciences, and a recently re-introduced species from the University of
Georgia. His interests include adaptive management, population
modelling, and ecosystem and restoration ecology. He is currently
working on a project to assess the impact of fisheries by-catch on the
fish assemblage of the Lake Ponchartrain system, and does outreach for
the New Orleans chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology.
 

Christopher Davis is a master’s student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science. He earned his B.Sc. in marine biology from Roger Williams University in 2006. Christopher’s thesis research investigates the nursery area for lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) at the Chandeleur Islands in the Gulf of Mexico. The Chandeleur Islands are a 65 km long chain of barrier islands about 40 km off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. There are many different shark species found residing at the islands including the Atlantic sharpnose, spinner, dusky, finetooth, bull, bonnethead, blacktip, and lemon sharks. The Atlantic sharpnose and lemon shark utilize the Chandeleur Islands as a nursery for neonates, young-of-year, and juvenile age classes. Christopher specifically looks at the diet and prey availability for young lemon sharks within the various habitat types at the islands. He is also investigating intra and interspecific interactions between sharks at the islands. The goal of this research is to determine if the Chandeleur Islands are viable as a primary nursery ground for lemon sharks and if so, determine any differences between nurseries in Bimini, Bahamas and southern Florida. Christopher’s other research interests include shark movement patterns and habitat loss.

 
Jenny Wolff is an undergraduate student worker in the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. She has worked in the Nekton Lab for over a year and has proven to be a very adept researcher who's primary duties are assisting with the field collections of data on the Pontchartrain project as well as data acquisition and laboratory work on the Bayou St. John/City Park project. Her primary research interests include fish behavior and the study of aquatic plants.