Water Jobs: Ecosystem Management

Paris Collingsworth is an ecosystem specialist with the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and stationed at the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office. Paris hails from Alger, OH and attended Samford University in Alabama. He earned his M.S. at Southern Illinois University and completed his education with a Ph.D. from Ohio State University. He is also an avid fisherman and the first person who ever offered to be on WaterJobs when they learned about this series, so a big “thank you” to Dr. Collingsworth for taking the time to answer all of our questions!

Would you explain what an ecosystem specialist does?

My primary duties involve outreach to the broader scientific and management community of the Great Lakes.  Through my connection with the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office, I work with researchers and management agencies across the Great Lakes, providing them with data collected through the EPA-GLNPO monitoring programs.  I am also involved in research.  Some of my more recent projects include improving monitoring program effectiveness through quantitative analyses and coordinating interdisciplinary research across the Great Lakes. 

How does one become an ecosystem specialist?

Well, that is a good question.  Obviously, my job requires a certain academic background. Throughout my career, I have always looked for opportunities to broaden the scale of my research.  It took some time and the process was very incremental, but I am now to the point that I have participated in research or monitoring projects in all 5 of the Great Lakes.  I think this breadth of experience has really benefitted my work.

What does a day in your working life look like?

Most days I work at my desk in a typical cubical farm environment, working on the computer either writing or processing data.  I also spend a lot of time travelling to meet with collaborators to discuss research and monitoring activities.  During the summers I spend a good bit of time on the Lake Guardian collecting field data.

Since you spend a lot of time at a computer processing data, what’s on your work soundtrack?

I love music but I listen more frequently at home than at work.  When I do listen to music at work, it is usually downtempo electronic music, things like Boards of Canada, Tycho and Bonobo.  I like listening to music at work, but it usually just distracts me from what I am doing.

Would you tell us about the fieldwork and data collection you do?

What is your wildest experience doing fieldwork, ever?

I do go out in the field from time to time, but not as much as when I was in graduate school.  My wildest field experience came during my dissertation research.  I was working with two technicians sampling yellow perch in Lake Erie during the early spring spawning season.  The water was very cold and the weather was not cooperating.  As we were pulling in a trawl it got hung up on the bottom and waves started crashing over the transom.  As we worked to get the net untangled, one of the technicians began panicking because he thought we were sinking.  I had to shake him around a bit to get him to snap out of it because we needed his help to get out of the situation.  It seems funny now, but I will never forget the terror in his eyes.  I am proud to say that he finished out the season working on my project and is still in the field to this day.

What do you most wish people understood about your research?

I wish that people understood the subjects of my research better.  Here in the Midwest we have one of the greatest natural resources in the world in the Great Lakes.  These lakes provide water and food for millions of people, support recreation and industry across the region, and are beautiful places to spend some time.  All of these activities cause stress on the ecosystem, but they are a major part of the economies of the Midwest.  Part of my job is to try to minimize the damage that we are causing to the lakes so that future generations will have access to them.

We know you’ve worked with some student interns through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant; what kind of advice would you give to students who are interested in summer internship?

Let’s assume that the point of an internship is to make one more competitive in the job market.  From my experience, getting a job is mostly about the skills that you have and the people that you know.  An interested student should look for an internship that either expands their skill set or expands their professional network.  

How did you decide to go to graduate school?

I decided to go to graduate school at some point during my last year in college.  My interests were pretty broad at that time, but I had researched enough to know that all of my potential career paths required some graduate work.  The hardest part for me was deciding what field of biology I wanted to pursue and this required a bit of trial and error (see next question). 

When you were 16, what did you want to be when you grew up, and what, if anything, changed your mind? 
When I was 16 (more like 18, but let’s run with it) I wanted to do biomedical research.  What changed my mind was my actual experience in that field.  I landed an excellent job straight out of college working as a technician in a molecular genetics lab.  It was a great opportunity to learn about this field (my first scientific publication described some protein crystallography experiments that I conducted) and, after a few years of paying my dues there, they offered me a Ph.D. assistantship in the lab.  Ultimately, I turned the offer down because I could not see myself working at a lab bench for the rest of my life.  I stayed at that job for a few months while I looked into different options for graduate school.  Aquatic ecology was always interesting to me and fisheries management seemed to be a somewhat practical way to work in that field.  I applied to SIU and the rest is history.  

Water Jobs: Professorship

Today in Water Jobs we discuss fishing and writing with Dr. James Garvey, who is the director of the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, as well as a professor of zoology, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Dr. Garvey is a graduate of Miami University (Ohio) and completed his MS and PhD at Ohio State University. His interest in fish was inspired by “spending summer vacations on a houseboat in Kentucky, sweating, swimming, and fishing” where he said always felt “more comfortable on a boat or scurrying around underwater than hanging out on land.” 

You’re the first professor we’ve featured on Water Jobs. Would you please tell us what being a professor looks like in the day-to-day? 

What I like most about being a professor is that every day is different.  I get to hang out with the brightest people and learn new things all the time.  So, it is a bit tough to map out a typical day.

My hypothetical day starts with me coming into the office and feeding the fish, anemones, and corals in our three aquaria.  While doing that, a couple of my graduate students pop in and ask for advice about how to ship off some of our fish specimens from our ichthyology collection to a researcher at another university.  After chatting with them about that task and telling them to finish their proposals, I work on a textbook I am writing and then, when I’m finally getting somewhere with the text, I have to run off to teach my class.  I miss lunch as usual, finding myself in a meeting talking about university politics with colleagues.  In the afternoon, I run over to our lab and hitch a ride with one of our research crews going into the field to collect water samples from a local lake.  When I get home, I eat dinner with the family, and then settle into the evening by reviewing a research proposal, while watching some episode of Dr. Who.  I might remember to take a shower and wash off the fish smell, if my family is lucky.

We’ve observed that most professors work a lot more than 40 hours a week. How much time do you spend on your work, and how do you divide it into teaching, research, and service? 

Being a professor is an honor and a gift.  Most of us consider it a lifestyle rather than a profession.  For me, a trip with the family to the beach is more than sunscreen and straw hats.  It’s an opportunity to contemplate the complex biological processes occurring in the ocean.  I can’t turn it off!

So, I guess I work all day, every day, because that’s what I was made do.   The distinctions among teaching, research, and service are fuzzier than many folks outside of universities might realize.  Teaching is going on all the time.  I may spend only a few hours a week in the lecture hall, but I interact with students at all levels throughout each day, whether to talk about class stuff, research progress, or career goals.  My days of collecting my own research data are largely over, although this is by choice - many faculty still do lab and field work.  My students conduct most of the research, which I help guide through conversations and the occasional field trip.  The students cringe when I go into the field with them, because I’m a disaster (very accident prone).  Something expensive on the boat is going to get broken if Garvey’s in the field.  Service is a weird category for faculty.  Technically, none of us faculty get hired to “serve” the university or our profession, but heck, yeah we do a lot of it.  An example of service is sitting on a committee to decide how much service faculty should be doing – really.  I try to avoid doing service, but we senior faculty seem to end up doing more of this to spare the newbies.   All I can say to that is “yawn”.

What is your favorite aspect of your job, and does it correspond with any good stories you’re willing to share? 

Traveling to meet with colleagues and talk about research is probably my favorite job-related activity.  I had the opportunity to visit China a couple of years ago, which was illuminating in a variety of ways.  I work with Asian carp, an invader here in the US, but a native delicacy in China.  My first night was in Shanghai.  After getting off the plane, I had a total of an hour to relax before my first dinner meeting. In a blink, the phone in my room rang and I realized I had passed out.  Jet-lagged and exhausted, I shuffled down to the private room where a lavish feast was laid out before my companions and me.  The very first course was fish-head soup made from a bighead carp – one of the invaders here in the US.  My study organism was floating in broth in its home country, staring me down.  And it was absolutely delicious.

When did you decide you wanted to go to graduate school?

When I was in fifth grade, I wanted to be an astronomer.  That was Carl Sagan’s fault.  Does that count?

Actually, I had no clue about graduate school until I was a junior in college.  I had an opportunity to conduct individual research in a lab and met some great graduate students and post docs.  I decided that I liked what they were doing – conducting research, writing, and talking science.  The alternative – a real job – was not looking as desirable.  I worked in a lumberyard during college and knew what real labor was like.  Exercising my mind was more of my style.

Emerging Flame Retardant Contamination in Illinois Fish

Southern Illinois University professor Dr. Da Chen has studied flame retardant contamination all over the world. Thus, when he arrived in Carbondale this past August and confirmed that no such research had been done in Illinois rivers, he submitted a proposal to the Illinois Water Resources Center Annual Small Grants program to study levels of this contaminate in Illinois fish.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are a group of chemicals added to everyday items like curtains, toasters, and car seats to reduce their flammability. They are also widely produced, and, Dr. Chen explains, most of them are not actually bound to the substances to which they’re added and so “a fraction may escape during production, use, disposal, and recycling [...] and enter the environment.” And, since some types of BFRs have shown environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxic potential, BFRs have “attracted mounting environmental and human health concerns.”  

“We are living in a world surrounded by flame retardant-treated consumer products,” writes Dr. Chen, “but we know so little about the consequence of massive usage of these man-made chemicals. I am interested in understanding their sources, fate, transport, environmental behavior, wildlife and human exposure, and associated impacts.”

Dr. Chen aims to do just that by partnering with the Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program (FCMP) in Illinois, which has been collecting fish all over the state for decades. Having years of data available means that not only can the change in BFR levels over time be measured but potential sources of contamination can also be identified. Dr. Chen and his lab plan to start analyzing samples collected by the FCMP this spring. Dr. Chen says he expects to find BFRs in the fish, since flame retardants are considered a global contaminant, but anticipates that the levels of contamination will depend on locations within rivers.

Dr. Chen’s research findings will be posted to IWRC’s website in April of 2014.

   

  

 

    

Going Fishing or Going to Work? The Life of a Fisheries Biologist

To kick off our series on water careers, we got to enjoy a conversation with Josh Sherwood, who works for the Illinois State Natural History Survey as a Fisheries Research Scientist. Josh grew up in Illinois, attended Hartsburg-Emden High School, studied at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and finished up with a masters of science from Western Illinois University. He graciously answered all our questions and was even nice enough to say he had fun doing so! Thanks to Josh for being a good sport, and we hope you enjoy his insights into the world of aquatic biology.  

Your official title is Fisheries Research Scientist. Can you explain what that means in your day-to-day responsibilities?

Basically, I analyze data gathered on the fish in Illinois (either my own or gathered by other organizations) to try and find any factors that may affect fish populations. During the summer, I lead a crew that goes out and samples the fish found in streams.

Currently we are working in Champaign County, but I have been lucky enough to sample many streams, rivers and lakes throughout the state in my short career. In addition to fish, I have also done projects on freshwater mussels (or clams) as well as other invertebrates (bugs). The winter is not nearly as exciting. During the winter I will enter data gathered from the previous summer, analyze the data and write reports or papers describing what I have found.

Josh's technicians seining for fish

How would your grandmother describe your job?

Haha, she would probably say that I get paid to go fishing!

How did you become interested in fish, and why research? Any pivotal moments in your past that led you down the aquatic sciences track? 

I grew up fishing a lot with my family and always loved being outside, on the local lake or creek. I did well in high school and actually decided to study engineering in college. I didn’t really enjoy my first year studying engineering, mainly because it required too much deskwork and I wanted to be outside. One of my friends was studying fish and wildlife conservation here at the U of I, I didn’t even know this was a major option! I switched over the next semester and begun enjoying going to class. I was lucky enough to work for a couple of scientists here at the INHS as a technician and from that I knew that this was something I would love to do for the rest of my life, helping keep fish around for future generations to enjoy.

Anything you wish you’d done in college or grad school, like a research experience, class, or adventure, that you missed out on? Or, what kind of advice would you offer current students looking to get into your field?

As an undergrad I was offered a position in the Bahamas to assist with research being done there, but I turned it down so that I wouldn’t miss a semester and delay my graduation. Still kicking myself for that decision!

For those wanting to get into the field, experience is the key. I got started by volunteering in a lab and gaining experience. This lead to a paid position and the experience I gained through both has guided me down the path I wanted. That being said, if you get the chance to do this, don’t just go through the motions. Ask questions. Learn as much as you can. You are helping someone who is passionate about what they do and most are excited about spreading that passion to others.

What parts of your educational experiences have been most useful in transitioning from school to a job?

Classes will give you the base knowledge and the ones that interest you the most can steer you towards what job you want. Getting out there and experiencing what I thought I wanted to do was the most useful for me in transitioning from school to my job. Even if you are not able to get a job in the field, helping professionals and learning as much as you can will help you tremendously.

How do you see the future of your field? Will there be lots more or fewer fisheries scientists in twenty years?

That depends on how we address the challenges we are facing today. Many people in the world rely on fish as a major part of their diets. The more people there are in the world, the more fish and other aquatic/marine species will be harvested to feed them. We will need more scientists who are willing to tackle this large job so we can keep feeding people without destroying fish populations.

How many cups of coffee are required to get you through a busy workday?

Hahaha, well I am a bit of a coffee-holic. I drink coffee regardless of my schedule. But as you can imagine, those winter days in front of my computer require more coffee than those summer days in the field.

I visited some 5^th grade students a few weeks ago, and their number one question about my fieldwork experience was if I was ever scared. So, are you ever scared doing fieldwork, and, if so, why or why not?

Well, I don’t really care for snakes and on occasion we run across them in the streams. I wouldn’t call it being scared, but I am definitely uncomfortable. Also, there are days when we are working on the bigger rivers (Illinois, Mississippi or Wabash), when I am scared of catching a large Asian Carp with my face.

And again for the 5^th graders, what are some adventures that science has allowed you to enjoy?

I have been lucky enough to be able to explore the streams all across Illinois and it is amazing what you may find in streams, and I am not talking about fish. I enjoy finding, and am amazed at what some people throw into streams. We have found things like tricycles, furniture, computers, microwaves, and, from a stream near Chicago, even a gun.

What do you wish more people knew or understood about Illinois fish?

A Bluebreast Darter--Josh's favorite fish

I wish people realized how diverse the fish in Illinois are. Most people only know about those species that you can catch with a rod and reel. But there is so much more in your local stream than you realize—species that are extremely colorful and with unique adaptations that you would not expect.