About

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I have spent most of my life in the Midwest. Growing up I loved the outdoors, fishing, hiking, and any animal I could get close enough to look at. My broad interests allowed me to pursue many different avenues from working with native mammals in Australia, to tracking bottlenose dolphin pod movements in the Gulf of Mexico, and finally to studying visitor impacts on carnivore behavior at a Chicago zoo. I didn’t narrow my interest to fisheries until my junior year of college when I undertook a project examining the impact of dams on spawning and migration behavior of the shorthead redhorse, a freshwater sucker. Through this project I became fascinated with the different ways humans were changing community structure in aquatic systems. Currently, I am a master’s student examining how fish communities are responding to large scale restorations in Tampa Bay. My project also focuses on common snook growth and body condition in these restored habitats.

 

Degrees

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• B.S. Biological Sciences, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL

• M.S. Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

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Publications

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Schulz K, Stevens P, Hill J, Trotter A, Ritch J, Tuckett Q, Patterson J. (2020) Coastal restoration evaluated using dominant habitat characteristics and associated fish communities. PLoS One 15: e0240623.

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Schulz K, Stevens P, Hill J, Trotter A, Ritch J, Williams K, Patterson J, Tuckett Q. (2020). Coastal wetland restoration improves habitat for juvenile sportfish in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. Restoration Ecology 28: 1283-1295.