James Morel, Ph.D.

Biography

James received his M.S. at New Mexico State University, in 2010, studying population dynamics of channel catfish in the San Juan River, NM-UT, in response to intensive removal efforts.  He received his B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 2006, where he participated in research ranging from ungulate response to re-introduction of the Gray Wolf in SW Montana, site fidelity and nesting success of the neo-tropical migratory prothonotary warbler in SE Oklahoma, and the response of fish communities to lotic sediment deposition in a SE Oklahoma reservoir.  Prior to his PhD work, James worked as the native fish biologist for the Navajo Nation, primarily working with endangered fish recovery efforts in the lower Colorado River basin.  Ongoing research interests include examining the genetic integrity of a trout population in headwater streams of the San Juan River basin, food habits of channel catfish in the San Juan River, NM-UT, and examining the value and limits of catch-effort data toward understanding large scale population parameter inferences.  James' current graduate work is focused on understanding the importance of man-made stock ponds for overwintering and migrating waterfowl in eastern and central Texas by examining food availability, habitat parameters, and waterfowl use and demographics of pond ecosystems.