Prof. Tony J. Pitcher from University of British Colombia (UBC) in Canada visited IHB on Sept. 27, 2019. 

Prof. Tony J. Pitcher from University of British Colombia (UBC) in Canada paid a visit to Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences on Sept. 27, 2019. During his visit, he gave an oral presentation with the title of “An Ecosystem Model of MilleLacs Lake, Minnesota: tracking a zebra mussel invasion and the evaluation of ecosystem impacts" for IHB scholars and students.  

Prof. Pitcher introduced his prediction for the ecosystem effects of zebra mussels. He used the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) ecosystem model to recreate the process of the outbreak of invasive zebra mussels and a system-wide collapse that the large carnivores face.  

Prof. Pitcher proposed his presumption that nutrition may limit the maximum density of zebra mussels, leading to the changes of the population of perch, crayfish and other nutrient-grade organisms. He also suggested that the EwE ecosystem models were driven by changes in plankton populations.  

Tony J Pitcher is a fisheries scientist, well known for his work on the impacts of fishing, the management appraisal of fisheries, and how shoaling behaviour impacts fisheries. He is the founding director of the UBC Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia, where he is currently a professor of fisheries. He is the founder of the Journal Fishes and Fisheries and has published 17 monographs and 250 papers, with more than 24,500 citations.  

 
Prof. Tony J. Pitcher had a field trip to Niushanhu Lake in Hubei.