Fish Ecology and Conservation Biology

Riverscape Ecology at Texas A&M University

Work in our lab focuses on the conservation and sustainable management of freshwater fish diversity, understanding reasons for its decline, and developing approaches for mitigating threats in Texas, the southern Great Plains, and beyond.

We address questions regarding species- and community-level change across spatial and temporal scales using a variety of study approaches, including meta-analyses, field experiments, natural snapshot and trajectory experiments, landscape modeling, and molecular techniques.

Our work strongly emphasizes how anthropogenic environmental manipulations, either destructive or restorative in nature, cause shifts in fish abundance, distribution, and community structure.

Dr. Josh Perkin

Josh is a fish ecologist who studies freshwater fishes and leads the Riverscape Ecology Lab in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M University.

Faculty Profile

Lindsey Elkins

Lindsey earned her Master of Science in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M, and her thesis was based on fish collections made as a part of the TRIAGE collaboration.

Her work focused on quantifying environmental predictors for fish assemblage composition in the central Colorado River (of Texas) and developing predictions for shifts under climate change scenarios. Lindsey presented her work at the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and Desert Fishes Council meeting.

She is now employed as a Biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Rebecca Mangold

Rebecca worked as an undergraduate scholar and then research associate focused on fish collections as a part of the TRIAGE collaboration.

She developed a manuscript examining the multiscale mechanisms that generate species-discharge relationships in the middle Colorado River (of Texas).

Rebecca presented her work twice at the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and was awarded best poster presentation in 2022.

Noah Santee

Noah is completing his Master of Science Thesis on fish assemblages and functional traits across the Rio Grande, Guadalupe, Red, and Neches River basins in Texas as a part of the TRIAGE collaboration.

Noah presented his work at the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and is currently drafting a manuscript on fish functional trait responses to anthropogenic alterations to streams.

Hannah Evans

Hannah is completing her Bachelor of Science Degree in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M University and works as an undergraduate research scholar on the TRIAGE collaboration.

She is coauthoring a manuscript on the environmental correlates of Blue Sucker occurrence in regulated rivers and has presented her research at the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the Texas A&M University Student Research Symposium.

Meghan Booknis

Meghan is completing her Bachelor of Science Degree in the Department of Range, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University and works as an undergraduate research scholar on the TRIAGE collaboration.

She is coauthoring a manuscript on the environmental correlates of Blue Sucker occurrence in regulated rivers and has presented her research at the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the Texas A&M University Student Research Symposium.

Lab Group in Action

A crew from the Riverscape Ecology Lab at Texas A&M University completed a seine haul to collect fishes as a part of the TRIAGE collaboration. Students are, left to right: Jake Wolff, Lucas Stevens, Hayden Roberts, Hailey Binkley, and Rebecca Mangold.
Noah Santee (left), Rebecca Mangold (center left), Hannah Evans (center right), and Meghan Booknis (right) complete as seine haul to collect fishes as Johnahtan Ellard (rear) waits to collect environmental data.
Lindsey Elkins on seine haul 1,020 of 1,020 from the summer of 2021… just when she thought she was done she had to count hundreds of minnows.
A storm pops up as students collect fish from a completed seine haul; Noah Santee stands keenly aware of the impending stormfront.
The crew maneuvers their boat over a rocky riffle as they access remote portions of the river.

Fish Ecology and Conservation Biology

Dr. Josh Perkin

Josh is a fish ecologist who studies freshwater fishes and leads the Riverscape Ecology Lab in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M University.

Lindsey Elkins

Lindsey earned her Master of Science in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M, and her thesis was based on fish collections made as a part of the TRIAGE collaboration.

She is now employed as a Biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Rebecca Mangold

Rebecca worked as an undergraduate scholar and then research associate focused on fish collections as a part of the TRIAGE collaboration.

She developed a manuscript examining the multiscale mechanisms that generate species-discharge relationships in the middle Colorado River (of Texas).

Rebecca presented her work twice at the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and was awarded best poster presentation in 2022.

Noah Santee

Noah is completing his Master of Science Thesis on fish assemblages and functional traits across the Rio Grande, Guadalupe, Red, and Neches River basins in Texas as a part of the TRIAGE collaboration.

Noah presented his work at the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and is currently drafting a manuscript on fish functional trait responses to anthropogenic alterations to streams.

Hannah Evans

Hannah is completing her Bachelor of Science Degree in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M University and works as an undergraduate research scholar on the TRIAGE collaboration.

She is coauthoring a manuscript on the environmental correlates of Blue Sucker occurrence in regulated rivers and has presented her research at the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the Texas A&M University Student Research Symposium.

Meghan Booknis

Meghan is completing her Bachelor of Science Degree in the Department of Range, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University and works as an undergraduate research scholar on the TRIAGE collaboration.

She is coauthoring a manuscript on the environmental correlates of Blue Sucker occurrence in regulated rivers and has presented her research at the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the Texas A&M University Student Research Symposium.

Lab Group in Action

A crew from the Riverscape Ecology Lab at Texas A&M University completed a seine haul to collect fishes as a part of the TRIAGE collaboration. Students are, left to right: Jake Wolff, Lucas Stevens, Hayden Roberts, Hailey Binkley, and Rebecca Mangold.

Noah Santee (left), Rebecca Mangold (center left), Hannah Evans (center right), and Meghan Booknis (right) complete as seine haul to collect fishes as Johnahtan Ellard (rear) waits to collect environmental data.

Lindsey Elkins on seine haul 1,020 of 1,020 from the summer of 2021… just when she thought she was done she had to count hundreds of minnows.

A storm pops up as students collect fish from a completed seine haul; Noah Santee stands keenly aware of the impending stormfront.

The crew maneuvers their boat over a rocky riffle as they access remote portions of the river.