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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
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
Publications
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
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
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 149:685–703
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
Brownscombe, J.W., M.G. Fox. In review. Living at the edge of the front; reduced predation risk to invasive round goby in a Great Lakes tributary. Hydrobiologia. HYDR-D-12-07633
Brownscombe, J.W., J.D. Thiem, C. Hatry, F. St-Louis, C.R. Haak, A.J. Danylchuk , S.J. Cooke. In review. Recovery bags reduce post-release impairments in locomotory activity and behaviour of bonefish (Albula spp.) following catch-and-release angling. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. JEMBE-D-12-00334
Thiem, J.D., C. Hatry, J.W. Brownscombe, F. St-Louis, A.D. Shultz, A.J. Danylchuk, S.J. Cooke. In review. Evaluation of radio telemetry to study the spatial ecology of checkered puffers (Sphoeroides testudineus) in shallow tropical marine systems. Bulletin of Marine Science. 2012-1052
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