Contact Information

• Assistant Unit Leader (Fisheries)
• Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
• Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
• Athens, Georgia
• Phone:706.542.1166
• Fax:706.542.8356
• peterson@smokey.forestry.uga.edu

Education

Ph.D., Fisheries, 1996, University of Missouri

Ph.D., Fisheries, 1996, University of Missouri

B.S., Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution, 1986, University of Illinois, Urbana

Area of Specialization

• Developing and evaluating aquatic sampling protocols
• Modeling fish and aquatic invertebrate populations
• Evaluating the effects of water development (use) on the viability of aquatic populations

Professional Affiliations

• American Fisheries Society
• Fisheries Management, Computer Users, and Education Sections
• American Statistical Association
• North American Benthological Society

Research Intersts

My research focuses on multiple aspects of aquatic ecology- with an emphasis on stream fish communities. Most of my work has been in identifying and quantifying the effects of physical and biotic factors on stream fishes at multiple scales. This includes studies of population dynamics, community production, and fish-habitat/landscape relationships. Other aspects of my research include evaluating the efficiency of fish collection and population-estimation techniques and computer software development. I believe that the status of natural resources is dependent upon the ability to predict the impacts of environmental perturbations or differing management schemes. Thus, the principal goal of my research is to develop the tools and understanding necessary for effective and efficient fisheries management and conservation.

Courses Taught

• Decision analysis under uncertainty
• Quantitative Approaches to Conservation Biology (FORS 8360)
• SAS for biologists
• Multivariate techniques for community/ecosystem-level studies

Computer Software

CATDAT- a program for parametric and nonparametric categorical data analysis