Then

Growing up in Southern California, I spent a lot of time during the summer at the beach getting tangled in drifting seaweeds. I can honestly say I never imagined it would become a focus for my research. I spent my undergrad years at the University of Arizona where I received a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 2001. While Tucson has thousands of acres of beautiful desert country, it lacks one vital resource; an ocean. In meager attempts to fill this void in my life, I spent a lot of time on the roaring rivers of Arizona (rarely more than knee deep) surveying stream systems for fish and inverts. I eventually grew tired of walking in miles of streams and electrofishing for minute fish and switched to working in the vertebrate collections for the University. This little slice of heaven was located in the basement of a campus building and consisted of a large room with shelves and shelves filled with dusty jars of preserved fish. With the soothing sounds of Led Zepplin and the Rolling Stones blasting through the dusty racks, I became very adept at keying out marine fish from the Gulf of California with an identification key written completely in spanish as thick as my language skills were sparse. Growing tired of my lethargic companions, I left Arizona to follow the setting sun, and along the way ended up in San Diego.

Northern Pike, Parker Canyon Reservoir, Arizona		Electrofishing in the Blue River, Arizona (David Ward, Me, Chuck Schade)

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