Steven Cooke
Fish Ecology Expert
Biography
Steven Cooke is an associate professor in the Institute of Environmental Science and the Department of Biology and the Canada Research Chair in Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology.
Before coming to Carleton, he completed a PhD was at the University of Illinois and held a Killam and NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of British Columbia, where he studied migration biology of Pacific salmon.
“The Carleton community supports each other – everyone is full of ideas, encouragement and collaborative spirit,” says Cooke.
“One of my favourite things about Carleton is that research and teaching are perfectly blended. Research informs teaching and teaching informs research. And from Day 1, students at the undergrad level are provided with the opportunity to be knowledge creators rather than just knowledge receivers.”
Cooke is an integrative biologist, conducting research at the interface of the behaviour and physiology of fishes. Much of this work is focused on understanding how fish vary in their response to different stressors with a particular focus on recreational fisheries, thermal pollution/climate change and hydropower. His studies cover freshwater and marine systems and span the globe with active collaborations in over 15 countries.
Cooke has published more than 450 peer-reviewed papers on diverse topics like behavioural endocrinology, environmental policy, human dimensions of fisheries, movement ecology and natural resources management.
He is chair of the Sea Lamprey Research Board of the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission and chair of the Science Advisory Committee of the Ocean Tracking Network. He is president of the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research and immediate past president of the Canadian Aquatic Resources Section of the American Fisheries Society. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Animal Biotelemetry, FACETS, Fisheries Research and Endangered Species Research, and is editor-in-chief of the Oxford University Press journal Conservation Physiology.
Cooke has received numerous awards. He was recently selected to be a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists and is an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Fellow.
