Jonathan J. Spurgeon, PhD
Assistant Unit Leader - Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Dr. Spurgeon received graduate degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he studied large-river ecology and conservation and management of fish populations. Before joining the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in 2020, Dr. Spurgeon was an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. A major focus of his research is quantifying the patchwork of habitat conditions needed by stream fishes across their life-history. Research outcomes are intended to inform decisions regarding habitat restoration and conservation strategies including translocation and non-native species suppression. Dr. Spurgeon uses a diversity of study designs and analytical techniques including occupancy modelling and mark-recapture methods. Dr. Spurgeon is currently working across a gradient of systems from small streams in the Nebraska Sandhills and Ouachita Mountains to the largest rivers in North America. Dr. Spurgeon teaches graduate courses in vertebrate population ecology and ecological statistics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.