People

William Fetzer - PI

I am broadly interested in all aspects of aquatic and fisheries science, focusing on research questions directly relevant to management and policy needs. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time outside with my family, including gardening, biking, hiking and camping, fishing, and hunting.

Chance Roberts - MS Student

Chance is from New Mexico and received a B.S. from New Mexico State University in 2014 in Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology. For the past five years, he worked for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department as a fisheries technician on various gamefish and native non-gamefish management projects. He is currently in the Fetzer and Collins labs using stable isotopes to construct food webs and identify critical food web linkages in Flaming Gorge Reservoir. His research is part of a collaboration between the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. You can contact Chance at [email protected].

Caroline Rosinski - MS Student

Caroline is from Westford, Massachusetts, and earned her B.S. at Stonehill College in 2017. She has held fisheries research/technician positions at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with the New Hampshire Fish and Game, and with the U.S. Geological Survey on Lake Superior. Her research focuses on food web dynamics in New Fork Lakes, WY, and the implications for fisheries management. Her research is part of a collaboration with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Her hobbies include fly fishing, backpacking, cross country skiing, and gardening. You can can learn more about Caroline at her website, or catch her on Twitter @carolineroz24 or email her at [email protected].

Jordan Brewin - PhD Student

Jordan is originally from Derbyshire in the United Kingdom and earned his MSci in marine biology from Bangor University, Wales. There, his research focused on stock discrimination in European sea bass using stable isotopes from scales, as well as working on other projects involving skates and blue mussels. Following this, he worked as a scientific fisheries observer aboard commercial fishing vessels in the Falkland Islands, where he also conducted a diet study on the common hake. Now in the Fetzer Lab, his research is focussed on using diets and stable isotopes to study and quantify the energy flow pathways to prey fish within the Great Lakes. Funded by the Great Lakes Fisheries Trust, the project aims to gain a clearer understanding for fisheries managers in the Great Lakes region. You can reach out to Jordan on twitter @fishlabmonkey or by email at [email protected].

Nathan Jaksha - MS Student

Nathan received a B.S. in 2020 from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point in Fisheries in Aquatic Sciences. He has worked a handful of fisheries technician positions over the last few years including working with South Dakota Game, Fish, & Parks, Idaho Fish & Game, and Wyoming Game & Fish. He is currently working in the Fetzer Lab on a Wyoming Game & Fish funded project studying the impacts of Walleye on stocked Salmonid populations in large, high elevation reservoirs in Wyoming. His hobbies involve anything outdoors including hunting, fishing, backpacking, and wild game cooking. You can contact Nathan via email at [email protected]

Megan Matthews - Undergraduate Researcher

Megan was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is a senior majoring in molecular biology and has an interest in environmental microbiology. Megan works on a variety of projects in the lab, including leading a collaboration between Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit using genetic structure to differentiate naturally reproduced vs. stocked walleye in Glendo Reservoir. Megan is also contributing to other Wyoming Game and Fish Department collaborations, including food studies on Flaming Gorge Reservoir and New Fork Lakes. Megan also works in a molecular biology lab contributing to statewide efforts to monitor COVID-19 levels in wastewater across Wyoming.

Lindsay Buckhout - Undergraduate Researcher

Lindsay is originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is a senior majoring in Zoology and Environment and Natural Resources with a minor in Honors. Lindsay is currently studying the flow of energy through prey fish utilizing stable isotope processing and diet analysis. Having grown up next to the Great Lakes, she has a focus on looking at invasive species such as the round goby to determine their role in the ecosystems of her home state. Her current research project focuses on understanding round goby foraging ecology overwinter by analyzing stable isotopes before and after winter.

Truman Boot - Undergraduate Researcher

Truman is from Des Moines, Iowa, and is currently in his fourth year at the University of Wyoming studying Rangeland Ecology & Watershed Management, and Environment & Natural Resources. His research is focusing on using stable isotope and diet data to determine potential environmental and trophic niche overlap between yellow perch and other invasive Great Lakes fish species, such as the Eurasian Ruffe. Truman will be spending this summer working for the National Park Service in Yosemite on an ongoing aquatic wildlife relocation and e-DNA study, and plans to continue focusing his education and career on ecological community and environment interactions following graduation. He enjoys rock climbing, fly fishing, mountain biking, and looking at birds from a distance.

Devin Gearhart - Undergraduate Researcher

Devin is from Palmyra, Pennsylvania and is currently pursuing a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology & Management and ENR. He is a senior studying the impacts of environmental conditions on gill lice outbreaks in Wyoming. Devin is using historical data from USGS and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to better understand these trends in the Snake River. Devin is also contributing to the Great Lakes energy flow project.

Logan Opsal - Undergraduate Researcher

Logan Opsal is from Cheyenne, Wyoming and is currently a freshman attending the University of Wyoming. He is majoring in Biology and ENR with a focus towards a career in applied ecology. Logan is currently conducting age and growth analysis of invasive walleye in Buffalo Bill Reservoir, Wyoming. He is interested in researching how climate change alters walleye in Wyoming reservoirs. His project is in collaboration with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Lydia Kleve - Undergraduate Researcher

Lydia Kleve is originally from Coon Rapids, Minnesota and is about to start her fourth year at the University of Wyoming studying Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and Management with a minor in Environment and Natural Resources. Her studies are focused on the management of freshwater aquatic ecosystems and she is interested in the ecology and management of aquatic invasive species. Last summer, Lydia interned with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a watercraft inspector; she was responsible for educating the public on the spread of AIS and enforcing relevant MN watercraft transport laws. Lydia's research project relates to ongoing work on walleye-stocked salmonid predator-prey dynamics on Upper North Platte Reservoirs.

Andy Daley - Undergraduate Researcher

Andrew is from Rock Springs, Wyoming, and is currently finishing up his bachelor's degree in Wildlife & Fish Biology & Management with an aquatic focus at the University of Wyoming. He currently works with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department helping to maintain the captive population of native Bluehead and Flannelmouth suckers. Andrew is also working on a variety of projects in the Fetzer lab, including processing fish eye lenses for stable isotope analyses. Andrew would like to pursue a career in conservation and habitat reclamation after graduation.

Lab Alumni
Ryan Williams: Undergraduate Researcher (2021-2022)
Sam Wicks: Undergraduate Researcher (2021-2022)
Taylor Skiles: Undergraduate Researcher (2020-2022)
Rob Edwards: Undergraduate Researcher (2020-2021)
Chris Cain: Undergraduate Researcher (2020)
Josh Fearing: Undergraduate Researcher (2020)
Kayli Clore: Undergraduate Researcher (2019-2021)
Will Herrick: Undergraduate Researcher (2019-2020)
Austin Jacobson: Undergraduate Researcher (2019-2020)
Braxton Newkirk: Undergraduate Researcher (2019-2020)
Jaide Phelps: Lab Manager (2018-2020)
Brody Garner: Undergraduate Researcher (2018-2020)
Colton Webb: Undergraduate Researcher (2018-2019)