I guess I could do that ewest!
First off, for those who don’t know me, my name is Nick Peterson. I’m a small town, farm raised, corn-fed Iowa native transplanted in Mississippi for the time being working on my Master’s degree in Fisheries Science. I attended South Dakota State University for my undergraduate degree and came to know the Pond Boss family through a mentor of mine that you all may know by the name of Dr. David Willis, current head of the Wildlife and Fisheries Science Department at South Dakota State University.
While at SDSU, I was provided the grand opportunity to conduct undergraduate research working with largemouth bass and bluegill in South Dakota small impoundments and presented our research at Pond Boss III in Springfield, MO where I met my current advisor, Dr. J. Wesley Neal. Dr. Neal mentioned some research opportunities working with largemouth bass in PUERTO RICO, and soon after offered me a position. The opportunity for a 23 year old Iowa farm boy to live and work in Puerto Rico AND work with the notorious largemouth bass... couldn’t turn it down!
I started my Master’s Degree at Mississippi State University in January 2010. The focus of my research is to determine the importance of genetic diversity in LMB populations from small impoundments throughout the Southeastern US. In Cerrillos Reservoir, Puerto Rico, we have a LMB population that was originally stocked in 1957 from a low number of fish (only 30 individuals). These individuals potentially have been inbreeding with their siblings for 53+ years! You don’t see that very often! We will use this population as a model to compare with small impoundments throughout the Southeast US. Also, we will be working with the Big Dog himself, Mr. Bob Lusk, to collect some LMB from around the south! Looking forward to it!
In the end, we hope to be able to provide recommendations for the importance of genetic refreshment in isolated populations (i.e., private ponds/impoundments). Pretty much: What happens when you stock an isolated pond with LMB and not restock/supplement with alternative genes for many years? How often should LMB populations be ‘refreshed’... Or should they be ‘refreshed’ at all? I would love to start a discussion on the PB Forum to collect some opinions on this topic.
