Steven J Cooke

Education

Steven J. Cooke started his postsecondary education at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada (1993-1999) where he attained a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a master's in biology. Cooke completed his doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1999-2002) with David Philipp and David Wahl where he studied the physiological diversity of sunfish in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.

Career

Following his Ph.D., Dr. Cooke accepted a post-doctoral position (with support from NSERC and the Killam Trust) with the Centre for Applied Conservation Research at the University of British Columbia (2002-2005) where he studied the migration biology of sockeye salmon. He joined the professoriate in 2005 and now is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Biology at Carleton University. He is also the Canada Research Chair in Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology. His Carleton research lab consists of approximately 30 members, both undergraduate and graduate students, and he teaches specialized courses in aquatic biology and ecology. He serves as a research associate in the Department of Forest and Conservation Science at the University of British Columbia, an adjunct professor in the Biology Department at the University of Waterloo, an affiliate at the Illinois Natural History Survey and is a Special Graduate Faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 2014 he was appointed as Director of the Institute of Environmental Science at Carleton University.

In addition to his academic activities, Dr. Cooke is the Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford University Press’s journal Conservation Physiology [2] on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. He also serves as an editor for Journal of Animal Biotelemetry and Environmental Biology of Fishes and is on the editorial board for Fisheries Research. In 2009 he published and edited a book (with Dr. David Philipp) on the biology and management of centrarchid fishes titled Centrarchid Fishes: Diversity, Biology and Conservation. He was the president of the Canadian Aquatic Resources Section of the American Fisheries Society from 2011-2013 and is the Chair of the Sea Lamprey Research Board of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (2013). He is involved in leadership roles with NSERC HydroNet and Ocean Tracking Network. In 2013 he delivered a TEDx talk on the future of recreational fishing. As of 2014, Dr. Cooke has published over 350 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Cooke launched the Canadian Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation and Environmental Management in 2014 - an affiliate of the UK-based Collaboration for Environmental Evidence. In 2014 Cooke conceived and launched the "Legends in Canadian Fisheries Science and Management" initiative to recognize luminaries in Canadian fisheries through the Canadian Aquatic Resources Section of the American Fisheries Society. He is also Chair of the "Science Pages" initiative of the Partnership Group for Science and Engineering.

Notable Awards and Honours

In 2005, Cooke received the Award of Excellence from the Fisheries Management Section of the American Fisheries Society(AFS) jointly with Drs. Scott Hinch, Tony Farrell and Mike Healey. In 2008 he received the FSBI Medal from the Fisheries Society of the British Isles. In 2009 he jointly won the Distinguished Service Award from AFS. In 2013, he was selected as the J.C. Stevenson Lecturer for the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research and the same year received the Roderick Haig-Brown Award from the Canadian Wildlife Federation. In 2015, Cooke was named an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellow. Cooke is also a "Research Fellow" for Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. In 2015 Cooke was elected into the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists.

Research Contributions

Cooke's research has contributed to multiple aspects of the biology, conservation and management of fish and aquatic ecosystems. One area of focus includes reproduction and fitness physiology primarily using centrarchid fish. For example, his research revealed that parental care of centrarchid fishes is energetically and physiologically demanding. Often, Cooke uses novel technology, like EMG transmitters and telemetry techniques to understand the behavior of and physiology of free-living animals. Recently he provided a framework for the application of telemetry techniques to enable IUCN Red List ranking. Cooke uses interdisciplinary approaches (ranging from behaviour to genomics) to study complex conservation and management problems. In particular, he has conducted basic research in support of applied problems for Pacific salmon in British Columbia. For example, his research has revealed that unsuccessful upriver adult migrants tend to be characterized by advanced reproductive development, disease, and stress, relative to those salmon that reach spawning grounds and reproduce. This type of information has been used to influence fisheries policy in Canada including the refinement of a management adjustment models for harvest levels of salmon. Cooke has also been a leader in defining the emerging discipline of “conservation physiology” by developing physiological techniques that enable rapid assessment of causes of conservation problems and consequences of conservation actions. He has recently extended these ideas to the field of ecological restoration. Understanding physiology can help conservation biologists provide legislators, courts and conservation managers with the mechanisms underlying conservation problems. Cooke’s research in the domain of fisheries science focuses on sustainable fisheries which includes quantifying the consequences of fishing on fish and fisheries and developing and promoting strategies that reduce stress and increase survival through refinement of catch-and-release fishing practices. His expertise were used to co-authored the UN FAO technical guidelines for recreational fisheries in 2012. Cooke’s research has illuminated problems in recreational fishing and possible development of effective countermeasures to conserve fisheries and his work has helped to refine management strategies in Canada and the USA.