Zy Biesinger
I am interested in how interactions between animals and their environment affect individuals and populations. My research examines different aspects of this broad question by asking, for example, how habitat- and density-dependent processes affect fish space use and fitness in marine systems, how amphibian populations respond to water-use changes in arid wetlands, how insect pest distributions respond to tree and conspecific cues in northern pine forests, or how heat transfer through snow, tundra, and soil affects plant community development in Arctic systems.
Currently, I am part of the Native Species Program at the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Working primarily in the lower Great Lakes and the Niagara River our projects involve many regional partners. We work to describe the population health and space use of lower Niagara River Lake Sturgeon. We describe the annual budget of habitat use of Lake Ontario Lake Trout. We also use multiple sonar technologies to map substrate, bathymetry, and water flow.