April 6th Talk & Description: Native mussels, or unionids, were thought to be extirpated from the Detroit and St. Clair rivers following the invasion of Zebra and Quagga mussels (dreissenids). However, these rivers were recently surveyed for unionid and dreissenid mussels and live unionids were found, though they were sparsely distributed. Data collected from both rivers and MaxEnt, an ecological modeling program, were then used to create distribution models for the mussels which will hopefully contribute towards unionid conservation and management in the future.
Speaker Biography:
Shay S. Keretz is an Arizona native working towards a degree in aquatic ecology in the Earth and Ecosystem Sciences PhD program at Central Michigan University. Her dissertation project focuses on creating species distribution models for both native and invasive mussels. Over the years, her academic journey has taken her across the United States, from an undergraduate degree at Northern Arizona University to her master’s degree at Mississippi State University. She moved to Ohio in 2018 and started her degree at Central Michigan University 2019. Some of her research interests include spatial distribution modeling, aquatic species and habitat conservation, invasive species, pathology, physiology, and environmental policy. Her favorite fish is the Brook Trout and my favorite mussel is the Mapleleaf.