Lake Erie Center
: Great Lakes Genetics Lab

Research Personnel

Douglas Murphy
DNA Sequencing Technician
douglas.murphy@utoledo.edu 

I returned to Northwest Ohio after spending 30 years in central Indiana. During those years I received a B.S. in Biology, a Masters in Neuroanatomy, and spent 20 years in various research laboratories. Research projects included 4 years in the Purdue Genomics Core Laboratory sequencing DNA. My primary focus in the Great Lakes Genetics Lab at The Lake Erie Center will be to keep the DNA sequencer churning out sequence and microsatellite data. The sportsman in me is very happy to be back. I am excited to get an opportunity to leave the rats, Guinea pigs and fungus behind and establish a new, perhaps a closer hands- on relationship with the walleye, perch and smallmouth bass in our great lake. I am especially focusing on developing the smallmouth bass, walleye, and yellow perch databases in the Great Lakes Genetics Lab.

Rachel Lohner
Education Program Manager 
rachel.lohner@utoledo.edu
CV 2009

I received my B.S. in Biology from the University of Toledo in 2000. I then continued my education at U.T. and completed my thesis, titled Diversity, redundancy, and efficiency in microbial decomposition of Typha litter and M.S. in biology in 2002. After working as a technician at the Medical College of Ohio in a genetics laboratory for a year I joined Christine Mayer's benthic ecology lab at the University of Toledo's Lake Erie Center, where I worked on a benthic primary productivity project. I then joined Carol Stepien's Great Lakes Genetics Laboratory to work on the population genetic variation of walleye, using mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear microsatellites. I am currently working as the Education Program Manager at the Lake Erie Center.  Through this position I oversee environmental education programs and facilitate educational outreach and I serve as the program manager on Dr. Stepien’s NSF funded GK-12 grant titled, “Graduate Teaching Fellows in STEM High School Education: An Environmental Science Learning Community at the Land-Lake Ecosystem Interface”.

Matthew Neilson
Graduate Student
matthew.neilson@utoledo.edu
CV 2009

Stepien, C. A., Brown, J. E., Neilson, M. E., & Tumeo, M.A. 2005. Genetic Diversity of Invasive Species in the Great Lakes Versus Their Eurasian Source Populations: Insights for Risk Analysis. Society for Risk Analysis, Vol. 25, No. 4 1043-1060.

Neilson, M. E. & Stepien, C. A. 2009. Evolution and phylogeography of the tubenose goby genus Proterorhinus (Gobiidae: Teleostei): Evidence for new cryptic species. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 96: 664-684

Research Interests:
My research interests lie mainly around the evolution, biogeography, systematics and population genetics of marine fishes, although I have recently become interested with freshwater fishes as well. I have previously worked on the population genetics of an invasive species of Asian goby along the California coast. I am also interested in the use of computer models in both population genetics and fisheries biology.

Projects:

The main focus of my dissertation research is the systematics of the neogobiin gobies, a small species flock of ~20-25 species of gobies endemic to the Ponto-Caspian region (Black and Caspian Seas) of Europe/Asia. The systematic relationships within this group are not very well known: many species in the group are morphologically similar, and are highly sympatric (4-7 species in a given area) within their native range. More importantly, however, is that a number of these species have invaded areas outside of their native range, due to anthropogenic sources such as man-made canals or transport in ballast water. The problem thus arises in determining the actual number of species invasions or rate of range expansion when the potential for cryptic invasion of a morphologically similar species is high.  In addition, phylogenetic analysis species groups containing a large number of invasive/introduced species (such as the neogobiins) can shed light on the evolutionary origins of invasiveness, through examining the distribution of invasive taxa relative to non-invasive taxa within the phylogeny itself. My research will utilize both morphological and molecular characters to describe the relationships among these species, as well as design morphological keys and molecular diagnostic tools in order to differentiate among these closely related taxa.

Joshua Brown
Graduate Student
joshua.brown@utoledo.edu
CV 2009

Genetic Diversity of Invasive Species in the Great Lakes Versus Their Eurasian Source Populations: Insights for Risk Analysis. Society for Risk Analysis, Vol. 25, No. 4 1043-1060 (2005).

Ancient divisions, recent expansions: Phylogeography and population genetics of the round goby Apollonia melanostoma across Eurasia. Molecular Ecology 17:2598-2615. (2008)

Invasion genetics of the round goby: Tracing Eurasian source populations to the New World.  Molecular Ecology 18:64-79 (2009).

Research Interests:
My interests center on questions of adaptation and evolution, focusing on the evolution of invasiveness and plasticity, using aquatic organisms as model systems. To address these questions, I make use of molecular and ecological studies to identify and track changes in populations. I have recently become very interested in native fish and mussel conservation, and would like to examine the historical forces that drove their radiations. Finally, I am interested in examining the interface between evolution and religion, and in finding ways to educate lay audiences on evolutionary principles.

Projects:
My current projects are focused on the Laurentian Great Lakes and the Ponto-Caspian species suite that is currently invading the region. These include the zebra and quagga mussels and the round and tubenose gobies. I am utilizing mitochondrial and nuclear markers to elucidate populatioin relationships, and then testing for ecological differences between these populations.

Osvaldo Jhonatan Sepulveda Villet
Graduate Student
osepulv@utnet.utoledo.edu
CV 2009

I received my B.S. in Aquacultural Engineering from the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, and a M.S. in Biology from Central Michigan University. My previous academic research has included Nutritional efficiency on freshwater crustaceans, developmental biology of marine shrimp, and proteomic research. An aquatic enthusiast at heart, I joined the Lake Erie Center to focus on yellow perch and percid population genetics and stock assessments for the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Erie and its tributaries. My interests include genome to proteome databases/mapping, applied genomics, QTL determination in animal species of commercial relevance and aquacultural research. I enjoy most outdoors activities, including backpacking, canoeing, and Steelhead/Salmon flyfishing.

Amanda Haponski
Graduate Student
amanda.haponski@utoledo.edu
CV 2009

Haponski, A.E.*, T.M. Marth*, and C.A. Stepien. 2007. Genetic divergence across a low-head dam: A preliminary analysis using logperch and greenside darters. Journal of Great Lakes Research. 33(Special Issue 2):117-126.

Molecular, morphological, and biogeographic resolution of cryptic taxa in the Greenside Darter Etheostoma blennioides complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49:69-83 (2008).

Research Interests:
My research interests include phylogeography, population genetics, systematics, ecology and natural history of marine and freshwater fishes.

Projects:
I received my master’s degree from the University of Toledo in December of 2007 and decided to continue on for my Ph.D. in Carol Stepien’s lab.  My thesis focused on a morphologic, genetic, and biogeographic comparison of two known subspecies of the Greenside Darter (Etheostoma blennioides Rafinesque 1819). I used a variety of morphological characters (i.e. scale counts) and molecular data to determine if these two subspecies should really be considered as subspecies.  Currently, I am finishing up a study looking at the genetic variation of the Rainbow Darter Etheostoma caeruleum in the Lake Erie Region. For this project I am working with a local high school teacher Mr. Tim Bollin.  My dissertation research will focus on two important commercial fishery species Walleye Sander vitreus and Yellow Perch Perca flavescens. I will be using archived scale samples to compare their genetic variation over the past 50 years in the Great Lakes. I will also be looking at the two genera and comparing morphological characters and molecular data to determine the systematic relationships among the species.

JoAnn Banda
Graduate Student
jo.banda@utoledo.edu
CV 2009

Research Interests:

I have lived near Lake Erie most of my life and knew I wanted to play a role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.  It was during my internship in the summer of 2006 at USGS in their Lake Erie Biological Station that I decided I wanted to work with freshwater fish.  After receiving my B.S. from Bowling Green State University in Environmental Science, I started my M.S. in Biology with an ecological focus at the University of Toledo.

Projects:

I began my research at UT as an undergraduate, as part of the NSF’s REU program, in the summer of 2007.  I am testing for genetically distinct spawning groups of Lake Erie walleye (Sander vitreus) to determine if the genetic composition of spawning runs is temporally and spatially consistent.  I am focusing on sites in Lake Erie, and have tested the Maumee River runs from 1995, 1998, 2001, 2003, and 2006 to date.  I am extracting DNA from fin clip samples taken by government agencies for the past 13 years during their catch and release programs, amplifying DNA from highly variable nuclear microsatellite loci with the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), identifying the alleles, and comparing among spawning group locations and years.

Lindsey R. Pierce
Graduate Student
lindsey.pierce@utoledo.edu
CV 2009

Lindsey R. Pierce, Yniv Palti, Jeffrey T. Silverstein, Fredrick T. Barrows, Eric M. Hallerman, James E. Parson. 2008. Family growth response to fishmeal and plant-based diets shows genotype x diet interaction in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquaculture 278, 37-42.

Research Interests:

My research interests include population genetics, conservation genetics, aquaculture genetics, nutrigenomics, epidemiology, and spatial ecology.

Projects:

I received my B.S. in Animal and Veterinary Science from West Virginia University in May of 2006. Furthering my interest in genetics I then went to work with Dr. Caird Rexroad III at the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture. Here I assisted in the completion of the genomic linkage map for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), development of a bac DNA library for rainbow trout, and a Flavobacteriuim disease challenge. I then started on my master’s thesis research with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University primarily focusing on nutrigenomics. I used a variety of programs to analyze family growth response to two separate diets to determine if a genotype x diet interaction existed. While presenting my work at the Annual AFS meeting I became interested in the research conducted at the Great Lakes Genetics Laboratory. After completion of my M.S. in July of 2008 I decided to further my education by working toward a Ph.D. in Dr. Carol Stepien’s lab. My dissertation research will focus on the genetic detection and geographic analysis of Great Lake fishes infected by Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS).

Past Researchers