SUNY Brockport- Department of Environmental Science and Ecology

06/04/2026

Environmental Science and Ecology graduate students Jonathan Truscott and Caleb Geister, Research Associate Dr. Matt Futia, and faculty member Dr. Jacques Rinchard presented research at the joint conference of the International Association for Great Lakes Research and the Society of Canadian Aquatic Sciences, held in Winnipeg last week.

Truscott presented findings on the relationship between thiamine deficiency and maternal provisioning in Great Lakes lake whitefish. Geister shared research using fatty acid analyses to estimate lake trout diets in Lakes Ontario and Superior.

Futia presented research examining differences in diet patterns between naturally produced and hatchery-produced lake trout across life stages. Rinchard also presented a poster on lipid and fatty acid signatures of cisco eggs from wild and domesticated broodstock.

Both Truscott and Geister conduct their graduate research under the advisement of Rinchard.

The conference brought together researchers, students, and professionals from across North America to share advances in aquatic sciences, fisheries management, and Great Lakes research.

Citations
Truscott, J., Beech, S., Bonilla Gomez, J., Davis, C., Day, K., Dunlop, E., Fisk, A., Hansen, S., Harding, I., Johnson, T., Lauzon, R., Marsden, E., Michaud, G., Olsen, E., Rowland, F., Schmitt, J., Smith, J., VanDoornik, C., Walters, D., and Rinchard, J., 2026 (oral presentation). Linking thiamine deficiency to maternal provisioning in Great Lakes lake whitefish.

Geister, C., Futia, M., Ludwig, J., Rowland, F., Walters, D., Stricker, C., O’Malley, B., Sitar, S., Yule, D., Gorsky, D., Morton, K., Carl, D., Michaels, B., and Rinchard, J., 2026 (oral presentation). Using fatty acid analyses to estimate lake trout diet in lakes Ontario and Superior.

Futia, M., Rinchard, J., and Marsden, E., 2025. (oral presentation). Diet patterns differ between naturally- and hatchery-produced lake trout across life stages.

Rinchard, J., Berger, C., Gordon, R., Bartron, M., Davis, S., and Sweka, J., 2025 (poster presentation). Lipid and fatty acid signatures of cisco eggs from wild and domesticated broodstock.

06/01/2026

Congratulations to Grace Trebilcock on defending her thesis proposal!

05/28/2026

05/20/2026

Matt Futia, Jacques Rinchard, and their collaborators from the University of Vermont and Vermont Diving returned to Gordon Landing in Lake Champlain last week to complete their field sampling related to their project funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and titled “do lake trout eggs and free embryos acquire thiamine during development in wild populations”. Divers recovered the last canister and sandwich incubators that have been rearing lake trout embryos since deployment in fall 2025. Lake trout embryos were collected to quantify their thiamine concentrations. Eggs and embryos from the same families were also reared and sampled at SUNY Brockport for comparison.

05/19/2026

Congratulations to the class of 2026!

05/07/2026

Join us on Saturday, May 9th from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM for a spring trail maintenance day at Bergen Swamp. This is a great opportunity for anyone from middle school students to adults—no experience is necessary, just a willingness to help and be part of a hardworking, friendly group. Volunteers wil...

05/07/2026

Plant Sale Update:
In addition to a variety of native plants for sale, there will also be indoor houseplants at the Native Plant sale on Friday.

The following indoor plants will be available for sale in addition to the native plants:

ghost plants
spider plants
cuttings of golden pothos
cuttings of inch plant

If possible, please bring small to medium boxes to transport your plants safely. Many plant species sold out last year, so please plan accordingly. Depending on the number of plants remaining after Friday, May 8, there may be an additional sale at a later date.

The Department of Environmental Science and Ecology is offering a diverse selection of locally grown native species that support pollinators and biodiversity!

05/06/2026

Dr. Jacques Rinchard has been awarded a $3,150 research grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Vermont to advance ongoing investigations into thiamine concentrations in Atlantic salmon eggs from Lake Champlain.

Thiamine deficiency complex continues to pose a significant challenge to the natural recruitment of salmonine species in both the Great Lakes region and Lake Champlain. Since 2003, thiamine levels in Atlantic salmon eggs have been consistently monitored using samples from females spawned at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ed W**d Fish Culture Station. Supported by this new funding, Dr. Rinchard and undergraduate researchers will analyze thiamine concentrations in eggs collected from Lake Champlain in 2025.

05/04/2026

May Student Spotlight: Megan Ge**er

Megan Ge**er is a senior Environmental Science major with a concentration in Terrestrial & Aquatic Ecology. She graduates this month! Megan has been on the SUNY Brockport women’s soccer team since her freshman year and the team captain since 2023. She just tried out for the USA National Flag Football Team and was awarded MVP of the tournament. She is also a team member of our Department’s Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program; she spent summer 2025 collecting data on fish and invertebrates in Lake Ontario coastal wetlands. After graduation later this month, Megan plans to hike the Camino de Santiago trail in Spain, then join another field season of Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program, before starting a graduate program in Environmental Science and Coastal Management at University of North Carolina – Wilmington. Congrats, Megan!

Nominated by: Kristen Malone