Aaron Fisk

Professor
Canada Research Chair 

Phone: 519-253-3000 ext. 4740
Office: GLIER Rm 241
email:  Aaron Fisk

EXPERTISE

• Trophic/Food Web Ecology
• Chemical tracers (stable isotopes and fatty acids)
• Fish movement and habitat use

EDUCATION

Ph.D. 1998, Soil Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
M.Sc. 1994, Biology, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada
B.Sc. 1991, Biology, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada

PAST ACADEMIC POSITIONS

• Associate Professor, Daniel B. Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA, 2006
• Assistant Professor, Daniel B. Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA, 2002-2005
• Research Scientist, Environment Canada, National Water Research Institute, Burlington, ON, Canada, 2000-2002
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Chemistry Department, Carleton University, Canada, 1998-2000

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that drive the structure and function of trophic interactions and food webs, which I call trophic ecology.  I use a combination of chemical tracers (stable isotopes, fatty acids and mercury) and acoustic and satellite tag technology to quantify habitat use, diet and movement of fish and marine mammals from the Great Lakes to the Arctic marine environment.

RECENT AND SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Hussey, N.E., S.F.J. Dudley, I.D. McCarthy, G. Cliff and A.T. Fisk. 2011. Complex role of large marine predators: size-based effect on diet, trophic position and habitat use. Can. J. Fisheries Aquat. In press.

Guzzo, M.M., G.D. Haffner, S. Sorge, S.A. Rush and A.T. Fisk. 2011. Spatial and temporal variabilities of δ13C and δ15N within lower trophic levels of a large lake: Implications for estimating trophic relationships of consumers. Hydrobiologia 675(1): 41-53.

Olin, J.A., N.E. Hussey, M. Fritts, M.R. Heupel, C.A. Simpfendorfer, G.R. Poulakis and A.T. Fisk. 2011. Maternal meddling in neonatal sharks: implications for interpreting stable isotopes in young animals.  Rapid Communication in Mass Spectrometry. 25:1-9.

Dennis, C.A., M.A. MacNeil, J.Y. Rosati, T. E. Pitcher and A.T. Fisk. 2010. Diet discrimination factors are inversely related to δ15N and δ13C values of food for fish under controlled conditions. Rapid Communication in Mass Spectrometry 24: 3515–3520. 

Fritts, M., J.A. Olin, C. Belcher and A.T. Fisk. 2008. Seasonal feeding ecology of two species of young-of-year sharks in the estuaries of Georgia using stomach contents and modeling of stable isotopes. Mar. Ecol. Progress Ser. (submitted March 28, 2008).

Fisk, A.T., M.T Arts, C. Shea and J. Peterson. 2008. Influence of hydrologic alterations on fatty acid profiles of riverine fishes. Environmental Management (submitted July 3/2008).

Overmyer, J., M.A. MacNeil and A.T. Fisk. 2008. Fractionation and metabolic turnover of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in black fly larvae. Rapid Comm. Mass Spect. 22 (5): 694-700.

Buckman, A.H., S.B. Brown, J.M. Small, D.C.G. Muir, J.L. Parrott, K.R. Solomon and A.T. Fisk. 2007. The role of temperature and enzyme induction in the biotransformation of PCBs and bioformation of OH-PCBs by rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Environ. Sci. Technol. 41: 3856-3863

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

• Ocean Tracking Network-Arctic Arena
• Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network
• Temporal and spatial feeding ecology of Great Lakes lake trout
• Impact of cormorants on Lake Erie Islands
• Fish movement, habitat use and feeding ecology in the Great Lakes
• Structure of marine food webs
• Refining the use of stable isotopes in ecology

CURRENT GRADUATE STUDENTS

• Bailey McMeans (Ph.D. candidate)
• Jill Olin (Ph.D. candidate)
• Harri Petitt-Wade (PhD Student)
• Iva Peklova (M.Sc student)
• Dave Yurkowski (M.Sc. student)
• Marina Beaudry (M.Sc. student)

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS

• Dr. Nigel Hussey
• Dr. Scott Rush
• Dr. Melissa McKinney
• Dr. Steven Kessel