Contact Information
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences315 Lena Point
17101 Point Lena Loop Rd
Juneau, AK 99801-8344
Phone: (907) 796-5448
Fax: (907) 796-5447
fmueter@alaska.edu
Franz Mueter Associate Professor
Affiliations
- Co-chair. Ecosystem Studies of Sub-Arctic Seas (ESSAS)
- Scientific and Statistical Committee of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council
- Co-chair of ESSAS Working Group 4: Climate Effects on Upper Trophic Levels
- ICES/PICES Working Group on Forecasting Climate Change Impacts on Fish and Shellfish
Specialties
- climate effects on fish populations
- dynamics of exploited populations
- ecosystem oceanography
- quantitative ecology
- marine fisheries
- multivariate analyses
- population ecology
- biostatistics
- fisheries management
Education
- B.S. Rhino-Westphalian Technical University (Biology)
- M.S. 1992 University of Alaska Fairbanks (Biological Oceanography)
- M.S. 1998 University of Alaska Fairbanks (Statistics)
- Ph.D. 1999 University of Alaska Fairbanks (Fisheries Oceanography)
Office Hours
Tuesday, Thursday 1-3pmResearch Overview
My research interests include the effects of climate variability and fishing on marine and anadromous fish populations, particularly in subarctic seas. Recently, my research has focused on fish populations in the Eastern Bering Sea and the effects of variability in ice conditions and bottom temperatures on their distribution, productivity, and abundance. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms controlling the productivity of individual populations and in the interactions among different species and functional groups.
I believe that a comparative, macroecological approach offers one of the more promising approaches to improving our understanding of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Due to the complexities of marine ecosystems, a mechanistic understanding of populations in any given system based on detailed process studies is extremely challenging. However, evidence from individual species or systems, when compared and contrasted across systems, can greatly strengthen support for or against particular mechanisms. Much of my research draws on existing environmental and fisheries databases for the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea ecosystems, as well as from around the world. Using multivariate and meta-analytical tools to quantify patterns of variability within and among different ecosystems, my research aims to identify the environmental drivers and the ecological principles that help shape marine ecosystems.
Current Research Projects
- Distribution of fish and shellfish in the eastern Chukchi Sea (BOEM)
- Arctic Ecosystem Integrated Survey (CIAP)
- Transport of early life history stages of walleye pollock on eastern Bering Sea shelf (NSF)
- Retrospective analyses of Gulf of Alaska ecosystem variability (NPRB - GOA IERP)
- Correlative, multi-species biomass dynamics model for the Bering Sea (NPRB-BSIERP)
- Retrospective analyses of variability in fish, seabird, and mammal populations of the Bering Sea (NPRB-BSIERP)
Links
- Curriculum Vita (25KB PDF)
- Ecosystem Studies of Sub-Arctic Seas (ESSAS)
- Responses of Arctic Marine Ecosystems to Climate Change
Visit my Google home page
Graduate students
In the News
- Los Angeles Times, October 19, 2008: "Migrating Alaskan pollock are creating the potential for a new dispute with Russia"
