Finally, I was able to upload this video! Zack Jud, Ph.D. candidate at the
Layman Lab at Florida International University, gave an awesome presentation on invasive
LIONFISH at the
South Florida Divers dive club meeting on Wednesday, April 6, 2011. This video is an informal chat SFDI members had with Jud after his presentation.
Click here or on the image to view the video (10 minutes long).
Here is Jud's biography from the
Layman Lab website:
Zack Jud, Ph.D. Student
zackjud@gmail.com
Zack Jud
After completing my B.S. in Biology at the University of Scranton (Scranton, PA), I stepped away from academia for several years to teach fly casting and fly tying professionally. The call to return to my scientific roots was irresistible, and I eventually entered a Masters Degree program in Biology at Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne, FL), working under the guidance of Dr. Jon Shenker. For my M.S. thesis, I examined the diets of juvenile tarpon in east-central Florida’s man-made mosquito control impoundment marshes to determine how anthropogenic disturbance affected feeding and prey selection.
In the fall of 2008, I began my doctoral work under Dr. Layman at FIU. My research in the Layman Lab focuses on the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on coastal river systems. The bulk of my work is carried out in the Loxahatchee River Estuary, near Jupiter, FL. Anthropogenic control of freshwater inflow is one of the major threats facing Florida’s coastal rivers. I hope to build a better understanding of how flow alterations (and resulting salinity changes) affect the estuarine ecosystem. To assess the effects of changing freshwater inflow regimes on a top estuarine predator, I use acoustic telemetry to identify movement patterns in common snook. This high-tech approach allows individual fish to be tracked for up to three years. Fish movement animations can be viewed at
www.adoptafish.net.
In addition to my research, I maintain a strong outreach program, conducting public seminars, presentations for sporting groups, and youth education programs. I hope to build a career that integrates research, education, and public outreach, bridging the gap between the scientific community, recreational anglers, and other resource users.