Syracuse.com - SUNY ESF prof lecturing tonight on giant, air-breathing Amazon fish

[HuntingNY-News]

There is no charge for admission. A reception will follow the lecture

Courtesy of SUNY ESF 

The following is a DEC press release:

Donald J. Stewart, an ESF professor who recently discovered a new species of the giant arapaima native to South America, will present a lecture tonight about conservation efforts for these air-breathing fishes, which are flagship species for diverse Amazonian ecosystems.

Stewart's presentation will be the third Dale L. Travis Lecture, supported by a gift from a 1959 graduate of ESF. The lecture will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Gateway Center on the ESF campus.

Stewart's work focuses on ecology, conservation and management of freshwater fishes and their ecosystems. He has worked with arapaimaina in Guyana and Brazil since 2006.

The fish are significant ecologically in addition to being a major food source for people who hunt them. Overfishing has depleted the numbers of arapaima around human population centers. Communities have established programs to manage populations, but knowledge of the fishes' biology is sparse.

Stewart's integrative research program encompasses learning more about the movement, diet, growth, reproduction, taxonomy, and population genetics of arapaima species to help shape management and to conserve their diversity.

There is no charge for admission. A reception will follow the lecture. Parking will be available on campus.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog