Student’s research wins first place at annual wildlife meeting

By Shelby Ruud

Jamie Reynolds, a student studying wildlife sciences at Utah State University, was honored at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Utah Chapter of The Wildlife Society for her research involving pelican diets.

Reynolds was awarded first place in the student poster category. The meeting, which took place on March 18-20 in Moab, was themed “Managing for an Uncertain Future: Climate, Economics and Habitats.”

Reynolds’ research focused on the impact of American white pelicans on the fish species in Utah’s Strawberry Reservoir, about 20 miles outside of Heber.

When pelicans began showing up at the Strawberry Reservoir a few years ago, locals were worried that the birds would deplete the cutthroat trout population. As Utah’s most popular fishing site, this could have had serious economic consequences.

But locals had no need to worry, according to Reynolds’ research.

“I found that higher amounts of Utah sucker fish led to higher amounts of pelicans on the reservoir,” she said. “And examining what was in the pelicans’ stomachs showed the same thing. The pelicans are eating the Utah sucker fish, not the cutthroat trout.”

This discovery was good news for the community surrounding the Strawberry Reservoir because the Utah sucker fish isn’t one of the fish attracting large crowds, according to Reynolds.

Reynolds conducted the research last summer with faculty mentor Phaedra Budy, a professor in USU’s Department of Watershed Sciences and the USU Ecology Center.

Reynolds also presented the research on Tuesday at the USU Spring Runoff Conference, an event where water resource professionals and researchers focused on water-related issues.

“Emphasizing regional research by faculty and students really allows people to gain a better knowledge of water issues,” said Charles Hawkins, the head of USU’s Department of Watershed Sciences and the chairman of the conference.

Reynolds and Budy will be continuing their research this summer, employing techniques they found useful last year.

“We’ll be more efficient now because we know what works and what doesn’t,” Reynolds said.