Sturgeon are a group of fishes with ancestral roots reaching over 200 million years in the past. Despite this ancestry, only 30 species exist and almost all populations worldwide are endangered. Where they still exist, they often play roles in ecology, economy, culture and food. My research over the years has aimed at describing aspects of their whole animal or organismal biology that results in the strange dichotomy of an incredible tough animal that is particularly vulnerable to human activities. What is the future of this oddly charismatic fish in Canada and elsewhere in the world?
Dr. Baker is an aquatic animal physiologist, who has been working with species of sturgeon for over 20 years. He is a professor at Vancouver Island University, and currently the Chair of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, teaching courses about fish husbandry, artificial environments, and aquaponics (see picture!). He has published widely, with 35 peer reviewed publications, and attended international conferences around the world to discuss his work. He is one of the few professors at VIU to have been awarded a NSERC Discovery grant, and his research program has trained dozens of students at VIU.