The Great Lakes Fishery Commission last week presented Dr. James Kitchell, a Professor of Zoology at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, with the 2011 Jack Christie/Ken Loftus Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions toward Understanding Healthy Great Lakes Ecosystems.
Kitchell was honored for significantly advancing the understanding of food web responses to ecosystem changes, especially in trophic dynamics and fisheries ecology.
Through theoretical and experiment research, Kitchell’s work has demonstrated that changes in fish populations can have rippling effects throughout the food web, thereby altering the fish community composition.
The award recognizes individuals or groups who adhere to the highest principles of science, for the benefit of the Great Lakes ecosystems and the fisheries they support.