Rubenstein School graduate Rebecca Dillon ’15 set her sights on a career in fisheries biology as a first-year student. Eight years later as a PhD candidate in fisheries and a student trainee with the U.S. Geological Survey at the Lake Erie Biological Station, Becca has netted a permanent fisheries biologist position.
Becca grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, ten miles from downtown Manhattan. With a love for the outdoors, she found her place at ̽̽. Its scenic campus with views of Mount Mansfield and Camel’s Hump and proximity to Lake Champlain propelled ̽̽ to the top of her list.
The opportunity to enroll in a school devoted solely to the environment and natural resources sealed the deal. With a life-long fascination for animals, beaches, and streams, she chose to major in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.
During her first year in the Rubenstein School, Becca met with Professor Ellen Marsden, a fisheries biologist, to choose a concentration in her major.
“I love water and wildlife,” she told Ellen. “Which concentration should I choose?”
Ellen’s response? “Fish!”
With Ellen’s help, Becca took the junior-level Fisheries Biology and Techniques course the next semester as a sophomore.
“My passion for fisheries and aquatic science took off from there,” said Becca, who became a teaching assistant in the course for two years.
She dove into research with Ellen and Professor Jason Stockwell at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory on the Lake Champlain waterfront. Among other projects, she evaluated population characteristics of Mysis, a freshwater shrimp and main food source for fish in the lake.
“Ellen and Jason inspired me along my educational and career path,” said Becca. “They taught me the most important thing I ever learned—when given an opportunity, always say yes. Because of this mantra, I am where I am today.”
With Ellen's and Jason’s guidance, Becca participated in two National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates opportunities. She interned at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she helped to construct and use a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in lakes to determine the diet of non-native round goby; and at Savannah State University, where she studied bottlenose dolphins.
As a senior, Becca conducted her own research project in partnership with ̽̽ graduate students and scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The team deployed an underwater video camera to help estimate population densities of Mysis on the bottom of Lake Champlain and to learn more about their diurnal migration patterns in the water column.
After graduating from ̽̽, Becca worked on a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) field crew to evaluate habitat selection by coho salmon in the Big Lakes region of Alaska. She sampled fish species and collected water quality and environmental data to identify lakes suitable for juvenile salmon overwintering habitat and to target in-flow and out-flow streams for fish-friendly culvert repairs.
As a PhD student at Ohio State University (OSU), she conducts applied research to assist the Ohio Division of Wildlife with prey fish assessment surveys using hydroacoustics. The underwater sonar sends beams of sound into the water column which then reverberate back to give researchers an idea of the size of the object that caused the backscatter. This allows Becca and division managers to calculate fish density, distribution, and biomass in Ohio’s reservoirs.
Becca is investigating bias in the surveys that comes from sonar backscatter caused by large swarms of fly larvae, Chaoborus, in lakes. She will devise a method for non-biased estimation of prey fish abundance. She will also quantify which and how much zooplankton Chaoborus consume and if Chaoborus compete with young sport fishes for zooplankton prey and limit recruitment of fish.
Simultaneously, Becca is a student trainee at the Lake Erie Biological Station, run by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Part of the Pathways Program, her position allows her to work part-time with the USGS while completing her graduate degree. With biologists at the USGS and at the Ohio Division of Wildlife, Becca is evaluating and redesigning the hydroacoustics survey of prey fish, such as rainbow smelt and emerald shiner, in Lake Erie.
Becca’s success as a student trainee has opened the door to a permanent position as a fisheries biologist at the Lake Erie Biological Station with the USGS once she finishes her PhD.
She attributes her experiences and accomplishments in fisheries to her undergraduate mentors, Ellen and Jason.
“Their connections and guidance helped me get every research job I had during undergrad, my position at USFWS, and my graduate position at OSU,” said Becca. “Ellen and Jason were the most supportive mentors I've ever had. They truly wanted me to succeed and gave me numerous opportunities to achieve success in the fisheries field.”