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
Filter Total Items: 63
Piscivory in recovering Lake Michigan Cisco (Coregonus artedi): The role of invasive species
Contemporary conditions in Lake Michigan where cisco (Coregonus artedi) populations are expanding are vastly different from those encountered by the historic fish community. Invasive species introductions have substantially altered the Lake Michigan ecosystem in the last half century. Successful management efforts for cisco in Lake Michigan hinge on our ability to understand their...
Authors
Brian Breaker, Kevin L. Pangle, Kevin C. Donner, Jason B. Smith, Benjamin A. Turschak, Randall M. Claramunt, David Bunnell, Jory L. Jonas
Effects of climate and land-use changes on fish catches across lakes at a global scale
Globally, our knowledge on lake fisheries is still limited despite their importance to food security and livelihoods. Here we show that fish catches can respond either positively or negatively to climate and land-use changes, by analyzing time-series data (1970–2014) for 31 lakes across five continents. We find that effects of a climate or land-use driver (e.g., air temperature) on lake...
Authors
Y. Kao, Mark W. Rogers, David Bunnell, I. G. Cowx, S. S. Qian, Orlane Anneville, T. Douglas Beard,, A. Brinker, J. Robert Britton, R. Chura-Crusz, N. J. Gownaris, J. Randy Jackson, Külli Kangur, J. Kolding, A.A. Lukin, Abigail Lynch, Norman Mercado-Silva, R. Moncayo-Estrada, F. J. Njaya, I. Ostrovsky, L.G. Rudstam, A. L. E. Sandström, Y. Sato, Humberto Siguayro-Mamani, A.N. Thorpe, P. A. M. van Zwieten, P. Volta, Y. Wang, A. Weiperth, Olaf L.F. Weyl, Joelle D. Young
InFish: A professional network to promote global conservation and responsible use of inland fish
Inland fishes and fisheries make substantial contributions to individuals, society, and the environment in a changing global landscape that includes climate, water allocations, and societal changes. However, current limitations to valuing the services provided by inland fish and their fisheries often leaves them out of key decision‐making discussions. InFish is a voluntary professional...
Authors
Abigail Lynch, Devin M. Bartley, T. Douglas Beard,, David Bunnell, Steve J. Cooke, Ian. G. Cowx, Simon Funge-Smith, Craig P. Paukert, Mark W. Rogers, William W. Taylor
Describing historical habitat use of a native fish-Cisco (Coregonus artedi)-In Lake Michigan between 1930 and 1932
With the global-scale loss of biodiversity, current restoration programs have been often required as part of conservation plans for species richness and ecosystem integrity. The restoration of pelagic-oriented cisco (Coregonus artedi) has been an interest of Lake Michigan managers because it may increase the diversity and resilience of the fish assemblages and conserve the integrity of...
Authors
Yu-Chun Kao, David Bunnell, Randy L. Eshenroder, Devin N. Murray
Status and trends of pelagic and benthic prey fish populations in Lake Michigan, 2019
Lakewide acoustic (AT) and bottom trawl (BT) surveys are conducted annually to generate indices of pelagic and benthic prey fish densities in Lake Michigan. The BT survey has been conducted each fall since 1973 using 12-m trawls at depths ranging from 9 to 110 m and include 70 fixed locations distributed across seven transects; this survey estimates densities of seven prey fish species...
Authors
David Bunnell, David M. Warner, Charles P. Madenjian, Ben Turschak, Patricia M Dieter, Timothy J. Desorcie
Spatiotemporal patterns in trophic niche overlap among five salmonines in Lake Michigan, USA
Native lake trout and introduced Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, and brown trout are major predators in Lake Michigan’s complex ecosystem and collectively support a valuable recreational fishery, but declines in their primary prey, alewife, have raised ecological and management concerns about competition and prey allocation. We applied niche overlap analysis to evaluate...
Authors
Matthew S. Kornis, David Bunnell, Heidi K. Swanson, Charles R. Bronte
Spatiotemporal variability in energetic condition of alewife and round goby in Lake Michigan
Pelagic-oriented alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and benthic-oriented round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) are two important prey fishes in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In 2015, we evaluated their seasonal total energy (TE) across nine Lake Michigan transects. Round goby contained at least 48% more kilojoules of TE than alewife of equal length during spring and summer. TE varied spatially...
Authors
David Bunnell, Steven A. Pothoven, Patricia M Dieter, Lauren A. Eaton, David M. Warner, Ashley K. Elgin, Lyubov E. Burlakova, Alexander Y. Karatayev
Densities, diets, and growth rates of larval Alewife and Bloater in a changing Lake Michigan ecosystem.
Variability in abiotic and biotic factors during larval stages has profound impacts on fish recruitment. In Lake Michigan, where the composition of lower trophic levels has undergone considerable changes in the past decade, managers are concerned that fish recruitment could be negatively affected. We hypothesized that spatial variation in Lake Michigan larval fish density and growth can...
Authors
Drew Elliot Eppehimer, David Bunnell, Patricia M Dieter, David M. Warner, Lauren A. Eaton, David J Wells, Edward S. Rutherford
Spatial patterns of rainbow smelt energetic condition in Lakes Huron and Erie in 2017: Evidence for Lake Huron resource limitation
Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) is a key planktivore and prey fish in Lake Huron. Given the declining offshore productivity in the lake since the early 2000s, we described the energy content of rainbow smelt in 2017 across five different regions (North Channel, Georgian Bay, Saginaw Bay, northern main basin, southern main basin) where phytoplankton and zooplankton productivity likely...
Authors
Qihong Dai, David Bunnell, James S. Diana, Steven A. Pothoven, Lauren A. Eaton, Timothy P. O'Brien, Richard T. Kraus
Status and trends of prey fish populations in Lake Michigan, 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center has conducted lake-wide surveys of the fish community in Lake Michigan each fall since 1973 using standard 12 m bottom trawls towed along contour at depths of 9 to 110 m at each of seven index transects. The survey provides relative abundance and biomass estimates between the 5 m and 114 m depth contours of the lake for prey fish...
Authors
David Bunnell, Charles P. Madenjian, Timothy J. Desorcie, Patricia M Dieter, Jean Adams
Evidence for interactions among environmental stressors in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Co-occurrence of environmental stressors is ubiquitous in ecosystems, but cumulative effects are difficult to predict for effective indicator development. Individual stressors can amplify (synergies) or lessen (antagonisms) each other's impacts or have fully independent effects (additive). Here we use the Laurentian Great Lakes, where a multitude of stressors have been studied for...
Authors
Sigrid D. P. Smith, David Bunnell, G.A. Burton, Jan J.H. Ciborowski, Alisha D. Davidson, Caitlin E. Dickinson, Lauren A. Eaton, Peter C. Esselman, Mary Anne Evans, Donna R. Kashian, Nathan M Manning, Peter B. McIntyre, Thomas F. Nalepa, Alicia Perez-Fuentetaja, Alan D. Steinman, Donald G. Uzarski, J. David Allan
Describing the distribution and productivity of biota along a nearshore to offshore gradient
The Lake Michigan Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP) proposed adding nutrients (phosphorus) to its “pollutant of concern” list in 2002, given that excessive nutrients were causing impairments in nearshore waters. Since that time, scientists have highlighted the “shunting” of nutrients to the nearshore (Hecky et al. 2004), owing to the ability of invasive dreissenid mussels to...
Authors
David Bunnell, Patricia M Dieter, David M. Warner, Lauren A. Eaton, Drew Elliot Eppehimer
Science pages by this scientist
News about this scientist
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 63
Piscivory in recovering Lake Michigan Cisco (Coregonus artedi): The role of invasive species
Contemporary conditions in Lake Michigan where cisco (Coregonus artedi) populations are expanding are vastly different from those encountered by the historic fish community. Invasive species introductions have substantially altered the Lake Michigan ecosystem in the last half century. Successful management efforts for cisco in Lake Michigan hinge on our ability to understand their...
Authors
Brian Breaker, Kevin L. Pangle, Kevin C. Donner, Jason B. Smith, Benjamin A. Turschak, Randall M. Claramunt, David Bunnell, Jory L. Jonas
Effects of climate and land-use changes on fish catches across lakes at a global scale
Globally, our knowledge on lake fisheries is still limited despite their importance to food security and livelihoods. Here we show that fish catches can respond either positively or negatively to climate and land-use changes, by analyzing time-series data (1970–2014) for 31 lakes across five continents. We find that effects of a climate or land-use driver (e.g., air temperature) on lake...
Authors
Y. Kao, Mark W. Rogers, David Bunnell, I. G. Cowx, S. S. Qian, Orlane Anneville, T. Douglas Beard,, A. Brinker, J. Robert Britton, R. Chura-Crusz, N. J. Gownaris, J. Randy Jackson, Külli Kangur, J. Kolding, A.A. Lukin, Abigail Lynch, Norman Mercado-Silva, R. Moncayo-Estrada, F. J. Njaya, I. Ostrovsky, L.G. Rudstam, A. L. E. Sandström, Y. Sato, Humberto Siguayro-Mamani, A.N. Thorpe, P. A. M. van Zwieten, P. Volta, Y. Wang, A. Weiperth, Olaf L.F. Weyl, Joelle D. Young
InFish: A professional network to promote global conservation and responsible use of inland fish
Inland fishes and fisheries make substantial contributions to individuals, society, and the environment in a changing global landscape that includes climate, water allocations, and societal changes. However, current limitations to valuing the services provided by inland fish and their fisheries often leaves them out of key decision‐making discussions. InFish is a voluntary professional...
Authors
Abigail Lynch, Devin M. Bartley, T. Douglas Beard,, David Bunnell, Steve J. Cooke, Ian. G. Cowx, Simon Funge-Smith, Craig P. Paukert, Mark W. Rogers, William W. Taylor
Describing historical habitat use of a native fish-Cisco (Coregonus artedi)-In Lake Michigan between 1930 and 1932
With the global-scale loss of biodiversity, current restoration programs have been often required as part of conservation plans for species richness and ecosystem integrity. The restoration of pelagic-oriented cisco (Coregonus artedi) has been an interest of Lake Michigan managers because it may increase the diversity and resilience of the fish assemblages and conserve the integrity of...
Authors
Yu-Chun Kao, David Bunnell, Randy L. Eshenroder, Devin N. Murray
Status and trends of pelagic and benthic prey fish populations in Lake Michigan, 2019
Lakewide acoustic (AT) and bottom trawl (BT) surveys are conducted annually to generate indices of pelagic and benthic prey fish densities in Lake Michigan. The BT survey has been conducted each fall since 1973 using 12-m trawls at depths ranging from 9 to 110 m and include 70 fixed locations distributed across seven transects; this survey estimates densities of seven prey fish species...
Authors
David Bunnell, David M. Warner, Charles P. Madenjian, Ben Turschak, Patricia M Dieter, Timothy J. Desorcie
Spatiotemporal patterns in trophic niche overlap among five salmonines in Lake Michigan, USA
Native lake trout and introduced Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, and brown trout are major predators in Lake Michigan’s complex ecosystem and collectively support a valuable recreational fishery, but declines in their primary prey, alewife, have raised ecological and management concerns about competition and prey allocation. We applied niche overlap analysis to evaluate...
Authors
Matthew S. Kornis, David Bunnell, Heidi K. Swanson, Charles R. Bronte
Spatiotemporal variability in energetic condition of alewife and round goby in Lake Michigan
Pelagic-oriented alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and benthic-oriented round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) are two important prey fishes in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In 2015, we evaluated their seasonal total energy (TE) across nine Lake Michigan transects. Round goby contained at least 48% more kilojoules of TE than alewife of equal length during spring and summer. TE varied spatially...
Authors
David Bunnell, Steven A. Pothoven, Patricia M Dieter, Lauren A. Eaton, David M. Warner, Ashley K. Elgin, Lyubov E. Burlakova, Alexander Y. Karatayev
Densities, diets, and growth rates of larval Alewife and Bloater in a changing Lake Michigan ecosystem.
Variability in abiotic and biotic factors during larval stages has profound impacts on fish recruitment. In Lake Michigan, where the composition of lower trophic levels has undergone considerable changes in the past decade, managers are concerned that fish recruitment could be negatively affected. We hypothesized that spatial variation in Lake Michigan larval fish density and growth can...
Authors
Drew Elliot Eppehimer, David Bunnell, Patricia M Dieter, David M. Warner, Lauren A. Eaton, David J Wells, Edward S. Rutherford
Spatial patterns of rainbow smelt energetic condition in Lakes Huron and Erie in 2017: Evidence for Lake Huron resource limitation
Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) is a key planktivore and prey fish in Lake Huron. Given the declining offshore productivity in the lake since the early 2000s, we described the energy content of rainbow smelt in 2017 across five different regions (North Channel, Georgian Bay, Saginaw Bay, northern main basin, southern main basin) where phytoplankton and zooplankton productivity likely...
Authors
Qihong Dai, David Bunnell, James S. Diana, Steven A. Pothoven, Lauren A. Eaton, Timothy P. O'Brien, Richard T. Kraus
Status and trends of prey fish populations in Lake Michigan, 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center has conducted lake-wide surveys of the fish community in Lake Michigan each fall since 1973 using standard 12 m bottom trawls towed along contour at depths of 9 to 110 m at each of seven index transects. The survey provides relative abundance and biomass estimates between the 5 m and 114 m depth contours of the lake for prey fish...
Authors
David Bunnell, Charles P. Madenjian, Timothy J. Desorcie, Patricia M Dieter, Jean Adams
Evidence for interactions among environmental stressors in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Co-occurrence of environmental stressors is ubiquitous in ecosystems, but cumulative effects are difficult to predict for effective indicator development. Individual stressors can amplify (synergies) or lessen (antagonisms) each other's impacts or have fully independent effects (additive). Here we use the Laurentian Great Lakes, where a multitude of stressors have been studied for...
Authors
Sigrid D. P. Smith, David Bunnell, G.A. Burton, Jan J.H. Ciborowski, Alisha D. Davidson, Caitlin E. Dickinson, Lauren A. Eaton, Peter C. Esselman, Mary Anne Evans, Donna R. Kashian, Nathan M Manning, Peter B. McIntyre, Thomas F. Nalepa, Alicia Perez-Fuentetaja, Alan D. Steinman, Donald G. Uzarski, J. David Allan
Describing the distribution and productivity of biota along a nearshore to offshore gradient
The Lake Michigan Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP) proposed adding nutrients (phosphorus) to its “pollutant of concern” list in 2002, given that excessive nutrients were causing impairments in nearshore waters. Since that time, scientists have highlighted the “shunting” of nutrients to the nearshore (Hecky et al. 2004), owing to the ability of invasive dreissenid mussels to...
Authors
David Bunnell, Patricia M Dieter, David M. Warner, Lauren A. Eaton, Drew Elliot Eppehimer
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