The Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in the University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources has hired Dr. Mark Henderson as the unit leader. Henderson, currently with the California Cooperative Research Unit, will begin his role in Vermont in July 2022.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Henderson to the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in the Rubenstein School,” said Dean Nancy Mathews. “Dr. Henderson’s diverse research experience in fisheries and his desire to address applied management questions will strengthen Unit and School partnerships with state and federal agencies. His prolific work with graduate students will enhance our graduate program in aquatic ecology and watershed science at our Lake Champlain waterfront laboratory.”
As the acting unit leader at Cal Poly Humboldt, Henderson uses ecological modeling to study the interaction of salmon and the environment. Prior to joining the Cooperative Research Unit family, Henderson served as a postdoctoral scholar at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz, California.
His research interests have primarily focused on answering applied management questions, and he is most interested in understanding how the physical and biological environment influences fish behavior, growth, and survival. He has studied the application of fisheries acoustics towards stock assessment; population dynamics of heavily targeted recreational species in Chesapeake Bay; associations between deep-sea coral and fishes; and importance of freshwater, estuarine, and ocean life-history stages to salmon survival.
"I’ve had a deep love of Lake Champlain since I started visiting the Adirondacks with my family as a young boy,” said Henderson. “I'm excited to work with all of our cooperators, which include the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to determine how we can better manage these valuable resources and make them sustainable for generations to come."
Henderson received a PhD in marine science from the College of William and Mary, a master’s of science in fisheries and aquatic sciences from the University of Washington, and a bachelor of science in biology from the State University of New York at Geneseo.
Henderson joins Therese Donovan, assistant unit leader, at the Vermont Cooperative Unit and succeeds outgoing unit leader Donna Parrish who retired in 2021.
Cooperative Research Units across the United States facilitate collaborative research among federal and state natural resource agencies and universities and enhance graduate education in fisheries and wildlife sciences. Research at the Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit provides cooperators (Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, University of Vermont, U.S. Geological Survey, and Wildlife Management Institute) and other agencies with practical information needed to understand and manage fish and wildlife resources in Vermont.