Jake’s research examines behavioural ecology, energy dynamics, and the effects of fisheries interactions on bonefish in The Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Bonefish are prevalent throughout the tropics and sub-tropics worldwide, and are a highly popular sport fish that generates significant revenue for many local economies. Jake’s primary goal is to determine bonefish behaviours (i.e. resting, swimming, feeding) and energy usage in multiple environments to assess how bonefish utilize different habitats. He is also examining fine scale habitat use of bonefish in Puerto Rico to assess daily and seasonal patterns of movement and important habitat characteristics for bonefish. Additionally, he is quantifying the effects of a common stressor, catch-and-release angling, on bonefish behaviour and survival, as well as testing methods for facilitating recovery after angling to improve post-release survival from predation. Overall, Jake’s research aims to inform basic biology including foraging, movement, and life history theories, as well as applied conservation of bonefish populations and marine ecosystems.
Background
Ph.D., Biology, Carleton University (2016)
Thesis title: Behavioural and physiological ecology of coastal marine fish: basic and applied perspectives Supervisors: Dr Steven J. Cooke & Dr Andy Danylchuck.
Research Biologist, Trent University (2011)
M.Sc., Environmental and Life Sciences Program, Trent University (2009-2011)
Thesis title: Invasion dynamics of the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in the Trent-Severn Waterway. Supervisor: Dr. Michael Fox
B.Sc., Biology, Trent University (2005-2009)
Thesis title: The effects of agricultural land use on the bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon in stream ecosystems. Supervisor: Dr. Marguerite Xenopoulos
Lab Publications (117)
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Griffin, L. P., Danylchuk, A. J., Casselberry, G. A., Brownscombe, J. W., Robichaud, J. A., Piczak, M. L., Haley, A. L., Morley, D., & Cooke, S. J. (In press). Habitat management and restoration as missing pieces in flats ecosystems conservation and the fishes and fisheries that they support. Fisheries. 00:000-000.
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LaRochelle, L., J., Bernardi., J.C., Madden, J.W., Brownscombe, A.M., Goodenough, A.J., Danylchuk, and S.J., Cooke. In Press. Effects of Recreational Fishing Gear Type on Reflex Impairment on Post-Release Swimming Activity of Smallmouth Bass. Fisheries Management and Ecology. 00: 0000-0000.
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Reeve, C., L. LaRochelle, C.J. Bihun, J.W. Brownscombe and S.J. Cooke. In Press. Winter behaviour and energetics of free-swimming largemouth bass. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 00:000-000.
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Cooke, S.J., S. Clark Danylchuk, S.R. Tracey, R. Arlinghaus, R.J. Lennox, J.W. Brownscombe, A. Weir, S.G. Hinch, D.A. Patterson, M.L. Guckian, and A.J Danylchuk. In Press. Individual outcomes matter in the context of responsible and sustainable catch-and-release practices in recreational fisheries and their management. Fisheries. 00:000-000.
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Reeve, C., Smith, K. A., Bzonek, P. A., Cooke, S. J., Blanchfield, P. J., and Brownscombe, J. W. 2024. Calibrating acceleration transmitters to quantify the seasonal energetic costs of activity in lake trout. Journal of Fish Biology.
Other Publications
Brownscombe, J.W., M.G. Fox. 2013. Living at the edge of the front; reduced predation risk to invasive round goby in a Great Lakes tributary. Hydrobiologia. 707: 199-208.
Houston, B.E., A.C. Rooke, J.W. Brownscombe, M.G. Fox. 2013. Overwinter survival, energy storage and reproductive allocation in the invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) from a river system. Ecology of Freshwater Fish. DOI: 10.1111/eff.12071.
Brownscombe, J.W., L. Masson, D.V. Beresford, M.G. Fox.2012. Modeling round goby Neogobius melanostomus range expansion in a Canadian river system. Aquatic Invasions 7:537–545.
Groen, M., N.M. Sopinka, J.R. Marentette, A.R. Reddon, J.W. Brownscombe, M.G. Fox, S.E. Marsh-Rollo, S. Balshine. 2012. Is there a role for aggression in round goby invasion fronts? Behaviour 0: 1–19.
Brownscombe, J.W., M.G. Fox. 2012. Range expansion dynamics of the invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in a river system. Aquatic Ecology 46:175–189.
Gutowsky, L.F., J.W. Brownscombe, M.F. Fox. 2011. Angling to estimate the density of large round goby (Neogobius melanostomus). Journal of Fisheries Research 108: 228–231.
