Dr. Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Biography

Wayne received graduate degrees and post-doctoral experience at the University of California, Davis, and Oregon State University. Since coming to USU in 1983 he has done research throughout the western United States, Peru, Argentina, Switzerland, and Spain. He has broad experience in fish ecology and limnology. His research takes a holistic view of aquatic ecosystems, analyzing how nutrients, algae, invertebrates, fish, and birds interact and are influenced by anthropogenic factors. Recent projects include: (1) studies on how eutrophication and metal pollution in the Great Salt Lake influence brine shrimp and brine fly ecology; (2) analysis of the nitrogen vs. phosphorus controversy with regard to eutrophication; (3) landscape analyses of streams and lakes in Switzerland; (4) limnological and fisheries studies to aid in the recovery of endangered sockeye salmon in Idaho, and ; (5) analyses of landscape-level interactions of streams and lakes in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho utilizing large-scale 15N isotope additions.

Wayne's primary teaching responsibilities have included Limnology, Aquatic Ecology Practicum, Water Quality and Pollution, and graduate seminars on limnology and fish ecology.