Meriel Brooks Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biology; Director, Environmental Liberal Arts Program; Program Director of Biology

Terrace Hall 003A
One College Circle
Poultney, VT 05764-1199
Email Address: brooksm@greenmtn.edu
802-287-8235; Fax: 802-287-8099

Education
1992
Ph. D. Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
Dissertation: "Ontogeny and evolution of sexual dimorphism in paraclinin blennies (Teleostei: Labrisomidae)." Advisor: Richard E. Strauss

1984
B.S. with distinction: University of Arizona. Major: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.

Courses Taught
Block Courses
The Champlain Basin (with 3 other faculty members: 15 credit interdisciplinary)
Promise and Peril of Biotechnology (with one other faculty member, 6 credit
interdisciplinary)
Fall 2001 The Hudson River: 15 credit interdisciplinary

Biology Courses for Majors
Biodiversity, Ecology, Animal Behavior, Biogeography, Evolution, Limnology, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy & Physiology, Animal Physiology, Developmental Biology, Ichthyology, Marine Ecology

Biology Field Trip Courses
Marine Biology of Belize, Environmental Bio-geology of Hawaii

Courses in the Environmental Liberal Arts Program
Images of Nature, Dimensions of Nature, Marine Biology, Environmental Science

Seminar Courses
Methods in Phylogenetic Systematics, Advanced Reading Seminar

Student Projects
Population structure of Vermont fisher and otter populations (Evolution class project for 2006 spring, funded by NSF Grant).
Patterns of distribution for larval fish communities in the Poultney River (1 student, current)
Distribution and habitat selection of alewife larvae in Lake St. Catherine (2 students, 2000-2004)
Effect of introduced alewives on macrozooplankton in Lake St. Catherine (1 student, 2000-2004)
Issues in Recreational Fisheries Management: Is there a disconnect between State Fish & Wildlife Mission and projects? (1 student, 2001-2002)
Histology of the maternal/embryo relationship in live-bearing marine fishes (1 student, 1996-7)
Maintaining Endangered Freshwater Mussels in Captivity (5 students, 1993-4)

Publications
Stepien, C.A., A. K. Dillon, M.J. Brooks, K.L. Chase, and A. N. Hubers 1997 The evolution of blennioid fishes based on an analysis of mitochondrial 12S rDNA. pp 245-270 in Molecular Systematics of Fishes. Eds T.D. Kocher and C.A. Stepien. Academic Press.

Howitt, D., L.M. Smith, M.J. Brooks, J. Kutina, and S. Savon. 1996 Does health and wellness education help undergraduate students to make wise lifestyle choices? Ohio Campus Healthcare Providers Meeting.

Brooks, M.J. 1992 The ontogeny and evolution of sexual dimorphism in paraclinin blennies (Teleostei: Labrisomidae). Dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson.

Brooks, M.J. 1991 The ontogeny of sexual dimorphism: Quantitative models and a case study in labrisomid blennies (Teleostei: Paraclinus). Syst. Zool. 40(3):271-283.

Presentations
2006 Early Life History Section of American Fisheries Society. Drift of larval fish in a small northeastern river. at the AFS meeting in Lake Placid, NY Northeast Natural History Conference IX.

Larval Fish in the Poultney River: Why Drift? in Albany, NY.

2004 Environment and Community: 14th North American Interdisciplinary Conference. The Hudson River Immersion: a multidisciplinary approach to ecological literacy. (with Christensen, Moore, and Jensen)

Northeast Natural History Conference: Assessment of Alewife larval (Alosa pseudharingas) distribution in Lake St. Catherine, VT and their invasion potential for Lake Champlain.

2003 Northern Taconics Research Consortium

2002 Society for Human Ecology: Vermont Recreational Fisheries: A Partial Analysis of Economic and Ecological Sustainability.

2001 Northern Taconics Research Consortium: Of Alewives, Trout, and Lamprey: The Problem of Exotics.

North American Alliance for Green Education: Assessing Agricultural Biotechnology: A Model for Educating Citizens.

2000 Society for Human Ecology: Is Fisheries Management Missing the Boat?

1998 Faculty Colloquium (GMC): Ontogeny and Evolution of Sexual Dimorphism.

1993 American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, University of Texas

1992 American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, University of Illinois

1990 Fourth International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, College Park, Maryland

1989 American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, San Francisco State University

1987 Western Society of Naturalists at California State University, Long Beach

1986 Animal Behavior Society, University of Arizona


Current Research and Grants
National Science Foundation (2004-06) Course, Curriculum, & Laboratory Improvement Grant, DUE: Problem-based Learning through the Laboratory Experience in Biochemistry and Evolution with Natalie Coe. $48,000.00 awarded in 2004

2000 National Science Foundation: Vermont EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) Grant: Habitat Selection and Distribution of Alewife Larvae in Lake St. Catherine, VT.

My overall research program is focused on connections. It is organized around the interface of science and policy, particularly as it plays out in recreational fisheries issues. I am generally interested in how science does or does not inform policy (and why), the degree to which governmental fish & wildlife agencies live up to their missions, and the reasons behind mismatch of mission statement with action. The particular area of scientific research I have focused on is the ecology of larval fish in wadeable rivers, primarily the Poultney River that runs through the campus. This is a largely unexplored area in fish and fisheries research (most larval fish work is done in lakes and oceans). Recreational fisheries for Champlain and the local rivers are some of the best in the country and the fish fauna of Vermont is the most diverse such fauna in New England. I am currently engaged in mapping distributions of the larval fish community, cataloging habitat parameters, and creating GIS maps of these data. There are many opportunities for students to become involved in this research.

Other Activities
I am actively involved in land use issues on the GMC campus, along with several colleagues. We have developed a land use plan that was adopted by the Board of Trustees and outlined in the Land Use Plan Map. Other projects include the "Poultney People's Trail", a community project that I and several others at the college are working on with folks from Poultney. The first stage of this project is to physically connect (via a trail) the elementary school to the college, and the high school to the Stonebridge Inn. In its final form, this will be a system of trails that connects sites of historic and ecological interest from Poultney to East Poultney. Some parts will be accessible for disabled folks, motorized travel (snowmobile), and wheeled (bicycles), other parts will be primitive footpaths.

Professional Societies
Society for the Study of Evolution, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, American Fisheries Society, National Association of Biology Teachers