University of Vermont

Dr. Ellen Marsden received her doctorate in Fisheries in 1988 from Cornell University. After post-doctoral work at Cornell, she joined the Illinois Natural History Survey as director of the Lake Michigan Biological Station, then moved to the University of Vermont in 1996, where she is a Professor in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology.

Marsden’s research is broadly focused on restoration and ecology of fishes in Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes, and the biology, vectors, effects, and management of aquatic invasive species, particularly dreissenid mussels and sea lamprey. She is currently studying restoration of lake trout populations, lake trout spawning behavior, and effects of lake fragmentation by causeways on population structuring. In collaboration with the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System (GLATOS) and USGS, she has established a telemetry array throughout Lake Champlain to track walleye, lake trout, and lake sturgeon. Marsden also studies design and use of artificial reefs as lake trout spawning sites, and recently finished a project in Thunder Bay, Lake Huron, involving construction of 29 reefs for research and habitat restoration. Her interests in lake trout behavior, fish conservation, and invasive species recently coalesced during research on suppression of invasive lake trout in Yellowstone Lake, WY.