HWS News
30 January 2025 • Faculty Cushman to Speak on Fish Ecology
Insight from research will guide panel during the New York Seafood Summit at Cornell AgriTech.
Associate Professor of Practice in Biology Susan Cushman will contribute as part of a panel on freshwater fisheries and angling research during the first of the 2025 New York Seafood Summits on Monday, March 3.
Sponsored by the New York Sea Grant and the Finger Lakes Institute, Cushman will share insights from her research at Hobart and William Smith, which focuses on stream and fish ecology, along with restoration ecology, biomonitoring and conservation.
The first summit will take place from 1-4 p.m. at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, N.Y.
The statewide Seafood Summits foster active communication, collaboration and productive relationships among the freshwater and marine fish and seafood industries. Each year, the summits highlight some of New York’s bountiful seafood supply and introduce participants to the delicious, diverse and versatile seafoods locally available.
Also, during the first summit, The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will provide an update on its recreational angling and fisheries management activities. A state seafood business will be highlighted. Other presentations will include information on food safety and fish consumption and how the New York State Department of Health monitors contaminants to issue consumption advisories when needed. Seafood nutrition, safety and sustainability information will be available from New York Sea Grant at the resource fair along with related state Department of Health information.
The two other summits will take place on Friday, March 28 at the Riverhead Free Library in Riverhead, N.Y. and on Monday, June 2 at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Details can be found here.
New York Sea Grant is a cooperative extension program of Cornell University and the State University of New York and among a nationwide network of 34 university-based programs working with coastal communities under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Sea Grant College Program. Learn more at www.nyseagrant.org.
Cushman joined HWS in 2007 and has taught the courses “Introductory Biology: Biology of Environmental Change,” “General Ecology,” “Aquatic Biology” and “Global Change Biology.” Her research projects include “Diet of salmonids in Seneca Lake”, “Mercury accumulation in stream and lake foodwebs across the Finger Lakes,” “Ecology of the Round Goby, an invasive fish species” and “Restoration of stream habitat and communities in the Finger Lakes National Forest” Cushman’s research has been published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, North American Journal of Fisheries Management, Urban Ecosystems and Journal of the North American Benthological Society. She is a member of the American Fisheries Society, Ecological Society of America, and the Society for Freshwater Science. She holds a bachelor’s degree from HWS, a master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
Top: In Castle Creek, Associate Professor of Practice in Biology Susan Cushman shows off a Blacknose Dace to students during an “Ecology” lab.
