Home Address 1941 NW 33rd Avenue Gainesville, FL 32605 pcooney@ufl.edu

Patrick with a Suwannee Bass from the Santa Fe River.

Work Address 7922 NW 71st Street Gainesville, FL 32653 Phone (352) 392-9617 ext. 271 FAX (352) 392-3672

Thesis Project

   

    Water levels in central Florida lakes have declined as a result of several factors since the 1960’s.  In an effort to maintain water levels, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) issued permits to allow landowners to pump water from aquifers into lakes.  Consequently, lake augmentation may alter water chemistry and other lake parameters.  I assessed effects of groundwater augmentation on fish assemblages and water chemistry in seven Florida lakes.  Fish were collected by electrofishing, and the length and weight of all captured fish was recorded.  Fish population parameters were compared to information from a 60-lake database of non-augmented lakes in Florida (Hoyer and Canfield 1992).  Current lake water samples had higher mean levels of pH, total alkalinity, total phosphorus and Secchi depth, and lower mean levels of color and chlorophyll than historical ranges prior to pumping.   Current samples also had lower mean nitrogen levels and higher mean chloride levels.  Values for mean catch per unit effort, species richness, and biomass of harvestable fishes were lower in augmented lakes than the means in nonaugmented lakes, however, multiple linear regressions indicated that fish population responses of augmented lakes to environmental variables were similar to nonaugmented lakes of similar limnological characteristics.  Multivariate analysis showed the augmented lakes have diverging environmental trends and a high probability of a low abundance of individual fish species.

(Link to pdf file of thesis.)

Education                    

                           Graduate studies:
                           University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
                           Graduated: August 2004
                           Master of Science in Fisheries Management

                           Undergraduate studies:
                           University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
                           Graduated with honors: May 2001
                           Bachelor of Science in Biology and Marine Science

Honors

• Graduate Student of the Year - University of Florida Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Department
• Best Student Presentation - North American Lake Management Society 2004
• Best Student Paper Award - The Florida Chapter of the American Fisheries Society 2004
• Henry King Stanford Academic Scholarship
• University of Miami Honors Graduate
• Rho Rho Rho Marine Science Honor Society
• President's Honor Roll
• Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society

Experience

5/02 - present    University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
                          Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
                         Fisheries Biologist

• Authored report for Southwest Florida Water Management District on effects of groundwater augmentation
• Authored report for St. Johns River Water Management District on Silver Springs fish population
• Authored report for Georgia Pacific Paper Plant on affects of low-head dam on fish movement on Etonia Creek
• Organized trawling of 15 Florida lakes to assess black crappie population age structures
• Assessed fish populations in Lago Izabal, Guatemala, for possible effects of introduced Hydrilla verticillata

8/02 - 5/04    University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
                          Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
                         Graduate Assistant

• Conducted boat electrofishing targeting all Florida freshwater species of fish on Clear, Dan, Goose, Loyce, Mountain, Saddleback, and Sunset Lakes; Withlacoochee Rivers (North and South); and Etonia Creek
• Conducted gill netting targeting all Florida freshwater species of fish on Clear, Dan, Goose, Loyce, Mountain, Saddleback, Sunset and Wauberg Lakes
• Trawled St. Johns River to assess juvenile American shad (Alosa sapidissima) populations
• Conducted boat electrofishing on countless small impoundments to assess fish populations, and provide recommendations for desired fishing conditions
  
• Applied Sonar Q to small impoundment to control aquatic plants and monitor concentrations of herbicide over time
• Organized visual and electrofishing surveys of fish populations on Silver River and Silver Springs
• Organized trawling of 15 Florida Lakes to assess black crappie population age structures
• Assisted FWC in complete rotenone kill in central Florida lake (~50 hectares)
• Conducted blocknet and rotenone sampling to obtain fish diversity, abundance, and biomass estimates, as well as aid in collecting age-0 largemouth bass in littoral areas of Lakes Harris, Monroe, Talquin and Seminole, Florida
• Conducted surface and bottom trawls on St. John's River near bridge in Palatka, FL, targeting juvenile American shad
• Analyzed largemouth bass livers using gel electrophoresis for Northern and FLorida strains
• Assisted in collecting and analyzing largemouth bass liver samples for genetic differences of Florida and Northern subspecies
  
• Assisted in scallop collection at Homossassa and Steinhatchee
  
• Aided numerous other students in their research efforts
  

10/01 - 8/02      University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
                          Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
                         Lab Technician

• Conducted boat electrofishing targeting all Florida freshwater species of fish on Annie, Bonny, Clear, Crescent, Crooked, Disston, Goose, Kissimmee, Loyce, Santa Fe, Sunset and Tarpon Lakes;  Alafia, Ochlockonee and Santa Fe Rivers;  Etonia Creek; and Rodman Reservoir
• Conducted back-pack electrofishing catch depletion studies on the Alafia River
• Conducted gill netting targeting all Florida freshwater species of fish on Clear, Goose, Loyce, Sunset and Wauberg Lakes
• Conducted gill netting targeting endangered Gulf Sturgeon for tagging and releasing in the Blackwater and Yellow Rivers
• Conducted creel interviews on Rodman Reservoir
• Tracked sonar tagged Gulf Sturgeon in the Suwannee River and Suwannee Estuary
• Collected Glass Eels (larval stage of American Eels) on the Guana River
• Conducted rotenone studies on small impoundments
• Conducted seining projects on small ponds to collect big headed carp
• Conducted otter trawling targeting all species of fish in Tarpon Lake
• Worked on various projects in conjunction with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• Worked on various projects in conjunction with United States Geological Survey
• Technician duties included sectioning and aging of black crappie, bluegill, redbreast sunfish, redear sunfish, largemouth bass, and Suwannee bass otoliths
• Volunteered to teach children how to fish with the Fishing for Success Program at University of Florida's Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• Maintained and operated all boats and lab equipment
• Organized plans and gear for field research trips
• Designed, developed and maintained lab websites

5/01 - 8/01        University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
                          Department of Ecology
                          Research Assistant

• Conducted field studies on the obligate mutualism between the Senita Cactus and the Senita Moth in the Sonoran Desert of Mexico
• Compiled data for statistical analysis
• Proposed trends in population size synchronization
• Prepared financial reports

2/00 - 7/00         James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
                          Orpheus Island
                          Researcher

• Conducted field studies on trends in growth, mortality, fecundity and recruitment of Porites coral on the Great Barrier Reef
• Compiled data for statistical analysis
• Proposed costs and benefits of life history traits
• Presented study

5/99 - 8/99         American River Trout Hatchery, Sacramento, California
                          California Department of Wildlife and Fish and Game
                          Hatchery Assistant

• Raised Brook, Brown and Rainbow Trout from eggs to adults for release into the wild
• Assisted in hatchling air-drop from airplanes to remote streams in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range
• Conducted research on mortality rate of released fish by fisherman
• Maintained fish holding tanks

5/97 - 8/97         Universal Transactions Incorporated, Cameron Park, California
5/98 - 8/98         Employment Verifier

• Ensured prior employment records of customers
• Entered customer employment records into computer system
• Improved data management systems

1997 - 2001       Sugarloaf Fine Arts Camp, Pollock Pines, California
                          Teacher

• Worked two weeks each summer teaching the techniques of developing black and white photography to students
• Supervised ten to twelve campers during activities and nights
• Participated as part of a large team to coordinate camp, and work towards a common goal

Conferences Attended

• Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society, Wilmington, North Carolina, February, 2003
  
• Florida Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Brooksville, Florida, February, 2003
• North American Lake Management Society, Orlando, Florida, June, 2003
  

Classes

Water Quality and Fish
Fisheries Management
Management of Small Impoundments
Fish Population Dynamics
Aquatic Plant Management
Statistics I
Statistics II
Marine Protected Areas
Limnology
Organic Chemistry (I and II)
Physics (I and II)
Calculus
Tropical Marine Biology
Physical Oceanography
Chemical Oceanography
Biology of Corals

Personal Information

I was born and raised in El Dorado Hills, which is a small and fast growing town in the Sierra-Nevada Mountain Range in northeastern California.  Upon graduating from high school, I moved to Miami, Florida to pursue my degree in both Biology and Marine Science from the University of Miami.  During this time I enjoyed studying abroad and conducting research on marine life and marine ecosystems for 7 months in Townsville, Australia, while attending James Cook University, which is situated on the beautiful Great Barrier Reef.  After graduating from the University of Miami, I promptly moved to Bahia de Kino, Mexico (located on the coast on the main land side of the Sea of Cortez), to study an obligate mutualism between the Senita moth and the Senita cactus.  Once this research was completed, I returned to Florida, and began my work and research on freshwater fish and water quality at the University of Florida in Gainesville.  After completing my Masters program, I worked as a fisheries biologist and conducted research on numerous systems in Florida and Guatemala.  I am currently working on publishing my Masters research and authoring numerous reports.

MPA Website    (for use in MPA class)

Pictures            

                                                       
                                        Here I am with a Gulf Sturgeon.                                                 Out electrofishing on the Santa Fe River.

Florida Fish Identification