Photo of Franz Mueter

Contact Information

School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
315 Lena Point
17101 Pt. Lena Loop Rd.
Juneau, AK 99801
Phone: (907) 796-5448
Fax: (907) 796-5447
fmueter@alaska.edu

Franz Mueter Assistant Professor

Commercial Fisheries • Fisheries and Conservation • Fisheries Ecology • Fisheries Oceanography • Fisheries Population and Biometry • Fishery Management

Affiliations

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)

Courses

Spring 2009

Modern Applied Stats in Marine and Fisheries Science (FISH F604)
S/T: Data Analysis in Community Ecology (FISH F693B)
S/T: Data Analysis in Community Ecology (FISH F693B)

Fall 2009

Department Seminar (FISH F692)
Department Seminar (FISH F692)
Modern Applied Stats in Marine and Fisheries Science (FISH F604)
Modern Applied Stats in Marine and Fisheries Science (FISH F604)
SEM: Dynamic of Marine Ecosystems (FISH F692)

Research 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.

In the News

Los Angeles Times, October 19, 2008: "Migrating Alaskan pollock are creating the potential for a new dispute with Russia"