David B Bunnell, PhD
David "Bo" Bunnell is a Research Fishery Biologist based in Ann Arbor, MI.
I am a Research Fishery Biologist at the Great Lakes Science Center, and Associate Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan. I am the Principal Investigator (PI) for multiple projects that study community and ecosystem-level processes within the Great Lakes and at the global scale. In short, my research seeks to understand the ecological factors (e.g., resources, climate, predation) that can explain or predict fish biomass, consistent with an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries science and management.
Professional Experience
October 2004 – present. Research Fishery Biologist, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
August 2003 – October 2004. Assistant Research Scientist, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons, Maryland
August 2002 – August 2003. Post-doctoral researcher, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Wheatley, Ontario
July 1997 – December 2002. Graduate Research Associate, Ohio State University, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Columbus, Ohio
July 1995 – May 1997. Graduate Research Associate, Clemson University Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Clemson, SC
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 2002. The Ohio State University; Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Columbus, OH
M.S. 1997. Clemson University; Fisheries Biology, Clemson, SC
B.S. 1995. Centre College, Magna cum laude; Biology, Danville, KY
Science and Products
Science pages by this scientist
Filter Total Items: 64
A science and management partnership to restore coregonine diversity to the Laurentian Great Lakes
Similar to many freshwater ecosystems, the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America have undergone numerous anthropogenic stressors resulting in considerable loss of biodiversity and habitat. Among Great Lakes fishes, the coregonine sub-family has endured the most extensive declines, including extinction of several species (Coregonus johannae, C. alpenae, and C. kiyi orientalis) and at...
Authors
David Bunnell, Amanda Susanne Ackiss, Karen M. Alofs, Cory Brant, Charles R. Bronte, Randall M. Claramunt, John M. Dettmers, Andrew Edgar Honsey, Nicholas E. Mandrak, Andrew M. Muir, Vincent L. Santucci, David R. Smith, Russell M. Strach, John A. Sweka, Brian Weidel, William Mattes, Kurt R. Newman
Distributions of Cisco (Coregonus artedi) in the upper Great Lakes in the mid-twentieth century, when populations were in decline
The restoration of the once abundant Cisco (Coregonus artedi) is a management interest across the Laurentian Great Lakes. To inform the restoration, we (1) described historical distributions of Cisco and (2) explored whether non-indigenous Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) and Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) played a role in the decline of Cisco populations across the upper Great Lakes (i.e...
Authors
Yu-Chun Kao, Renee Elizabeth Renauer, David Bunnell, Owen T. Gorman, Randy L. Eshenroder
Predicting physical and geomorphic habitat associated with historical lake whitefish and cisco spawning locations in Lakes Erie and Ontario
The Great Lakes basin was historically populated by multiple, coevolved coregonine species, but much of that diversity has been lost. In Lakes Erie and Ontario, both lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and cisco (Coregonus artedi) occurred in high numbers before habitat degradation, overfishing, invasive species, and other factors caused significant declines. There is growing...
Authors
Hannah M Schaefer, Andrew Edgar Honsey, David Bunnell, Brian Weidel, Robin L. DeBruyne, James S. Diana, Dimitry Gorsky, Edward Roseman
Predicting larval alewife transport in Lake Michigan using hydrodynamic and Lagrangian particle dispersion models
Several species of fish in large lakes and marine environments have a pelagic larval stage, and are subject to variable transport that can ultimately regulate survival and recruitment success. Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, are subject to transport by complex coastal currents during their pelagic larval stage (~ 30 d). We assessed backward-trajectory simulations, consisting of a...
Authors
Mark P. Rowe, Sara E Prendergast, Karen M. Alofs, David Bunnell, Edward S. Rutherford, Eric D. Anderson
Seasonal variability of invertebrate prey diet and selectivity of the dominant forage fishes in Lake Huron
Predators can shift their diets and even selectivity in response to changing environmental conditions. Since the early 2000s, Lake Huron experienced major food-web shifts that have caused changes in the prey availability and quality for consumers at multiple trophic levels. Previous studies have reported declining energetic condition for key planktivorous fishes, such as bloater...
Authors
Patricia M Dieter, David Bunnell, David M. Warner
Slimy sculpin depth shifts and habitat squeeze following the round goby invasion in the Laurentian Great Lakes
The collapse of Diporeia spp. and invasions of dreissenid mussels (zebra, Dreissena polymorpha; quagga, D. bugensis) and round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) have been associated with declines in abundance of native benthic fishes in the Great Lakes, including historically abundant slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus). We hypothesized that as round goby colonized deeper habitat, slimy sculpin...
Authors
Shea L. Volkel, Kelly Filer Robinson, David Bunnell, Michael Connerton, Jeremy P. Holden, Darryl W. Hondorp, Brian Weidel
Metal accumulation in Lake Michigan prey fish: Influence of ontogeny, trophic position, and habitat
Developing an understanding of factors that influence the accumulation and magnification of heavy metals in fish of the Laurentian Great Lakes is central to managing ecosystem and human health. We measured muscle tissue concentrations of heavy metals in Lake Michigan prey fish that vary in habitat use, diet, and trophic position, including alewife, bloater, deepwater sculpin, round goby...
Authors
Whitney M. Conard, Brandon S. Gerig, Lea M. Lovin, David Bunnell, Gary A. Lamberti
Consequences of changing water clarity on the fish and fisheries of the Laurentian Great Lakes
Human-driven environmental change underlies recent changes in water clarity in many of the world’s great lakes, yet our understanding of the consequences of these changes on the fish and fisheries they support remains incomplete. Herein, we offer a framework to organize current knowledge, guide future research, and help fisheries managers understand how water clarity can affect their...
Authors
David Bunnell, Stuart A. Ludsin, Roger L. Knight, Lars G. Rudstam, Craig E. Williamson, Tomas O. Höök, Paris D. Collingsworth, Barry M. Lesht, Richard P. Barbiero, Anne E. Scofield, Edward S. Rutherford, Layne Gaynor, Henry A. Vanderploeg, Marten A. Koops
Status and trends of pelagic and benthic prey fish populations in Lake Michigan, 2020
Lakewide acoustic (AC) and bottom trawl (BT) surveys are conducted annually to generate indices of pelagic and benthic prey fish densities in Lake Michigan. The BT survey had been conducted each fall from 1973 through 2019 using 12-m trawls at depths ranging from 9 to 110 m and included 70 fixed locations distributed across seven transects; this survey estimates densities of seven prey...
Authors
Ralph William Tingley, David Bunnell, David M. Warner, Charles P. Madenjian, Patricia M Dieter
Spatial and temporal distributions of Dreissena spp. veligers in Lake Huron: Does calcium limit settling success?
The larval stage of invasive Dreissena spp. mussels (i.e., veligers) are understudied despite their seasonal numerical dominance among plankton. We report the spring and summer veliger densities and size structure across the main basin, North Channel, and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, and seek to explain spatiotemporal variation. Monthly sampling was conducted at 9 transects and up to 3...
Authors
Darren S. Kirkendall, David Bunnell, Patricia M Dieter, Lauren A. Eaton, Anett S Trebitz, Nicole M. Watson
Trends in inland commercial fisheries in the United States
Inland fisheries, defined as finfish caught in lakes, rivers, and other water bodies, provide economic value and a source of protein at local and international levels. However, no comprehensive compilation of U.S. inland commercial fisheries exists. We sought to obtain data across all 50 states during 1990–2015 and noted a small, but significant, decline in harvest. The minimum harvest...
Authors
Devin N. Murray, David Bunnell, Mark W. Rogers, Abigail Lynch, T. Douglas Beard,, Simon Funge-Smith
A synthesis of the biology and ecology of sculpin species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and implications for the adaptive capacity of the benthic ecosystem
The Laurentian Great Lakes have experienced recent ecosystem changes that could lead to reductions in adaptive capacity and ultimately a loss of biodiversity and production throughout the food web. Observed changes in Great Lakes benthic communities include declines of native species and widespread success of invasive species like dreissenid mussels in all but Lake Superior...
Authors
Kelly Filer Robinson, Charles R. Bronte, David Bunnell, Peter T. Euclide, Darryl W. Hondorp, John J. Janssen, Matthew S. Kornis, Derek H. Ogle, Will F Otte, Stephen Riley, Mark Vinson, Shea L. Volkel, Brian Weidel
News about this scientist
Science and Products
Science pages by this scientist
Filter Total Items: 64
A science and management partnership to restore coregonine diversity to the Laurentian Great Lakes
Similar to many freshwater ecosystems, the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America have undergone numerous anthropogenic stressors resulting in considerable loss of biodiversity and habitat. Among Great Lakes fishes, the coregonine sub-family has endured the most extensive declines, including extinction of several species (Coregonus johannae, C. alpenae, and C. kiyi orientalis) and at...
Authors
David Bunnell, Amanda Susanne Ackiss, Karen M. Alofs, Cory Brant, Charles R. Bronte, Randall M. Claramunt, John M. Dettmers, Andrew Edgar Honsey, Nicholas E. Mandrak, Andrew M. Muir, Vincent L. Santucci, David R. Smith, Russell M. Strach, John A. Sweka, Brian Weidel, William Mattes, Kurt R. Newman
Distributions of Cisco (Coregonus artedi) in the upper Great Lakes in the mid-twentieth century, when populations were in decline
The restoration of the once abundant Cisco (Coregonus artedi) is a management interest across the Laurentian Great Lakes. To inform the restoration, we (1) described historical distributions of Cisco and (2) explored whether non-indigenous Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) and Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) played a role in the decline of Cisco populations across the upper Great Lakes (i.e...
Authors
Yu-Chun Kao, Renee Elizabeth Renauer, David Bunnell, Owen T. Gorman, Randy L. Eshenroder
Predicting physical and geomorphic habitat associated with historical lake whitefish and cisco spawning locations in Lakes Erie and Ontario
The Great Lakes basin was historically populated by multiple, coevolved coregonine species, but much of that diversity has been lost. In Lakes Erie and Ontario, both lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and cisco (Coregonus artedi) occurred in high numbers before habitat degradation, overfishing, invasive species, and other factors caused significant declines. There is growing...
Authors
Hannah M Schaefer, Andrew Edgar Honsey, David Bunnell, Brian Weidel, Robin L. DeBruyne, James S. Diana, Dimitry Gorsky, Edward Roseman
Predicting larval alewife transport in Lake Michigan using hydrodynamic and Lagrangian particle dispersion models
Several species of fish in large lakes and marine environments have a pelagic larval stage, and are subject to variable transport that can ultimately regulate survival and recruitment success. Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, are subject to transport by complex coastal currents during their pelagic larval stage (~ 30 d). We assessed backward-trajectory simulations, consisting of a...
Authors
Mark P. Rowe, Sara E Prendergast, Karen M. Alofs, David Bunnell, Edward S. Rutherford, Eric D. Anderson
Seasonal variability of invertebrate prey diet and selectivity of the dominant forage fishes in Lake Huron
Predators can shift their diets and even selectivity in response to changing environmental conditions. Since the early 2000s, Lake Huron experienced major food-web shifts that have caused changes in the prey availability and quality for consumers at multiple trophic levels. Previous studies have reported declining energetic condition for key planktivorous fishes, such as bloater...
Authors
Patricia M Dieter, David Bunnell, David M. Warner
Slimy sculpin depth shifts and habitat squeeze following the round goby invasion in the Laurentian Great Lakes
The collapse of Diporeia spp. and invasions of dreissenid mussels (zebra, Dreissena polymorpha; quagga, D. bugensis) and round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) have been associated with declines in abundance of native benthic fishes in the Great Lakes, including historically abundant slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus). We hypothesized that as round goby colonized deeper habitat, slimy sculpin...
Authors
Shea L. Volkel, Kelly Filer Robinson, David Bunnell, Michael Connerton, Jeremy P. Holden, Darryl W. Hondorp, Brian Weidel
Metal accumulation in Lake Michigan prey fish: Influence of ontogeny, trophic position, and habitat
Developing an understanding of factors that influence the accumulation and magnification of heavy metals in fish of the Laurentian Great Lakes is central to managing ecosystem and human health. We measured muscle tissue concentrations of heavy metals in Lake Michigan prey fish that vary in habitat use, diet, and trophic position, including alewife, bloater, deepwater sculpin, round goby...
Authors
Whitney M. Conard, Brandon S. Gerig, Lea M. Lovin, David Bunnell, Gary A. Lamberti
Consequences of changing water clarity on the fish and fisheries of the Laurentian Great Lakes
Human-driven environmental change underlies recent changes in water clarity in many of the world’s great lakes, yet our understanding of the consequences of these changes on the fish and fisheries they support remains incomplete. Herein, we offer a framework to organize current knowledge, guide future research, and help fisheries managers understand how water clarity can affect their...
Authors
David Bunnell, Stuart A. Ludsin, Roger L. Knight, Lars G. Rudstam, Craig E. Williamson, Tomas O. Höök, Paris D. Collingsworth, Barry M. Lesht, Richard P. Barbiero, Anne E. Scofield, Edward S. Rutherford, Layne Gaynor, Henry A. Vanderploeg, Marten A. Koops
Status and trends of pelagic and benthic prey fish populations in Lake Michigan, 2020
Lakewide acoustic (AC) and bottom trawl (BT) surveys are conducted annually to generate indices of pelagic and benthic prey fish densities in Lake Michigan. The BT survey had been conducted each fall from 1973 through 2019 using 12-m trawls at depths ranging from 9 to 110 m and included 70 fixed locations distributed across seven transects; this survey estimates densities of seven prey...
Authors
Ralph William Tingley, David Bunnell, David M. Warner, Charles P. Madenjian, Patricia M Dieter
Spatial and temporal distributions of Dreissena spp. veligers in Lake Huron: Does calcium limit settling success?
The larval stage of invasive Dreissena spp. mussels (i.e., veligers) are understudied despite their seasonal numerical dominance among plankton. We report the spring and summer veliger densities and size structure across the main basin, North Channel, and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, and seek to explain spatiotemporal variation. Monthly sampling was conducted at 9 transects and up to 3...
Authors
Darren S. Kirkendall, David Bunnell, Patricia M Dieter, Lauren A. Eaton, Anett S Trebitz, Nicole M. Watson
Trends in inland commercial fisheries in the United States
Inland fisheries, defined as finfish caught in lakes, rivers, and other water bodies, provide economic value and a source of protein at local and international levels. However, no comprehensive compilation of U.S. inland commercial fisheries exists. We sought to obtain data across all 50 states during 1990–2015 and noted a small, but significant, decline in harvest. The minimum harvest...
Authors
Devin N. Murray, David Bunnell, Mark W. Rogers, Abigail Lynch, T. Douglas Beard,, Simon Funge-Smith
A synthesis of the biology and ecology of sculpin species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and implications for the adaptive capacity of the benthic ecosystem
The Laurentian Great Lakes have experienced recent ecosystem changes that could lead to reductions in adaptive capacity and ultimately a loss of biodiversity and production throughout the food web. Observed changes in Great Lakes benthic communities include declines of native species and widespread success of invasive species like dreissenid mussels in all but Lake Superior...
Authors
Kelly Filer Robinson, Charles R. Bronte, David Bunnell, Peter T. Euclide, Darryl W. Hondorp, John J. Janssen, Matthew S. Kornis, Derek H. Ogle, Will F Otte, Stephen Riley, Mark Vinson, Shea L. Volkel, Brian Weidel
News about this scientist