Karen Murchie, Ph.D.
Director of Freshwater Research
Karen Murchie researches fish migrations in the Great Lakes, exploring how human activities and environmental change can influence fish behavior.
Education
Ph.D., Biology, Carleton University
M.Sc., Biology, University of Waterloo
B.Sc., Biology, University of Waterloo
“One of my favorite aspects of working at Shedd is connecting with the public to share insights on fish behaviors I observe in the wild. I am grateful that I can be a spokesperson for understudied and often unappreciated native species in the Great Lakes region. All fish are inherently amazing and I love sharing their stories.”
Karen Murchie has a diverse background in fisheries research, having worked in freshwater systems from the Arctic to the Amazon, and in marine ecosystems in the Bahamas. She joined the Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research at Shedd in 2016, and now oversees a staff of research biologists engaged in freshwater biodiversity conservation efforts focused in the Laurentian Great Lakes region.
Murchie also maintains a research program focused on understanding how environmental change and human activities affect native migratory fishes. Her aim is to undertake a research approach that embraces the complexity of the environment and the human dimension to further understand fisheries, leading to effective conservation and management strategies.
Murchie has published in a number of peer-reviewed journals, but also enjoys sharing her research via popular press articles. Murchie received her Ph.D. from Carleton University, where her dissertation focused on the physiological ecology and behavior of bonefish in tropical tidal flats. M.S. was obtained at the University of Waterloo, where her research examined young-of-the-year yellow perch ecology at the northern fringe of their distribution. Before joining Shedd, Murchie was an assistant professor at the College of The Bahamas.
Murchie, K. J. & Diomede, D. D. (2020). Fundamentals of graphic design – essential tools for effective visual communication. FACETS, 5, 409–422.
Lynch, A. J., Elliott, V., Phang, S. C. Claussen, J. E., Harrison, I., Murchie, K. J., Steel, E. A., & Stokes, G. L. (2020). Inland fish and fisheries integral to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Nature Sustainability, 3, 579–587. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0517-6
Happel A., Murchie, K. J., Willink, P. W., & Knapp, C. R. (2020). Great Lakes Fish Finder App; a tool for biologists, managers and education practitioners. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 46(1), 230–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2019.12.002
Phang, S. C., Cooperman, M., Lynch, A. J., Steel, E. A., Elliott, V., Murchie, K. J., ... & Cowx, I. G. (2019). Fishing for conservation of freshwater tropical fishes in the Anthropocene. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 29(7), 1039–1051. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3080
Lennox, R. J., Paukert, C. P., Aarestrup, K., Auger-Méthé, M., Baumgartner, L., Birnie-Gauvin, K., Murchie, K. J., ... & Davidsen, J. G. (2019). One hundred pressing questions on the future of global fish migration science, conservation, and policy. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 286. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00286
Brownscombe, J. W., Lédée, E. J., Raby, G. D., Struthers, D. P., Gutowsky, L. F., Nguyen, V. M., Murchie, K. J., Kessel, S. T., ... & Vandergoot, C. S. (2019). Conducting and interpreting fish telemetry studies: considerations for researchers and resource managers. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 29(2), 369–400. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-019-09560-4
Murchie, K. J., Haak, C. R., Power, M., Shipley, O. N., Danylchuk, A. J., & Cooke, S. J. (2019). Ontogenetic patterns in resource use dynamics of bonefish (Albula vulpes) in The Bahamas. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 102(2), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-018-0789-0
Murchie, K.J., Knapp, C.R., & McIntyre, P.B. (2018). Advancing freshwater biodiversity conservation by Collaborating with Public Aquaria: Making the most of an engaged audience and trusted arena. Fisheries, 43(4), 172-178. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10056
DeFilippi Simpson, J., Glaser, S.M., Murchie, K.J. & Shirey, P.D. (2021). Angling for ideas in science communication to hosting a photo-essay workshop for teens: implementing the winning idea from Wiley Publishing’s first impact-a-thon. Fisheries, 46, 617-628. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10674
Shipley, O.N., Murchie, K.J., Frisk, M.G., O’Shea, O.R., Winchester, M.M., Brooks, E.J., ... & Power, M. (2018). Trophic niche dynamics of three nearshore benthic predators in The Bahamas. Hydrobiologia, 813(1), 177-188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3523-1
Shipley, O.N., Murchie, K.J., Frisk, M.G., Brooks, E.J., Shea, O.R., & Power, M. (2017). Low lipid and urea effects and inter-tissue comparisons of stable isotope signatures in three nearshore elasmobranchs. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 579, 233-238. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12264
Lynch, A.J., Cooke, S.J., Arthington, A. H., Baigun, C., Bossenbroek, L., Dickens, C., Harrison, I., Kimirei, I., Langhans, S.D., Murchie, K.J., Olden, J.D., Ormerod, S.J., Owuor, M., Raghavan, R., Samways, M. J., Schinegger, R., Sharma, S., Tachamo-Shah, R., Tickner, D., … & Jähnig, S.C. (2023). People need freshwater biodiversity. WIREs Water, 10(3), e1633. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1633