Jason Vokoun, associate professor and director at the University of Connecticut, will present this free and public seminar.

Vokoun’s research program sets out to fill information gaps and answer questions relevant to the conservation of fish populations and their habitats. Taxonomically, the research focus is broad and he works both with ‘non-game’ native fishes (often of conservation concern) and ‘sportfish’ species that are pursued by anglers. The common thread is an applied ecological approach that investigates how life histories, population dynamics, and habitat requirements interact within coupled human-natural ecosystems to provide relevant information to natural resource managers. He currently works with brook trout focusing on landscape-level population connectivity in warming watersheds, largemouth bass as indicators of recreational fishing-induced evolution, and bridle shiner conservation and (hopefully soon!) restoration.

Vokoun graduated from UNL in 1996 with a BS in forestry, fisheries and wildlife and holds an MS and PhD from the University of Missouri in fisheries and wildlife science. He joined the University of Connecticut in 2004 and offers courses in fisheries conservation, stream ecology, and conservation history and ethics.