I am an aquatic ecologist, photographer, and creator–each facet is intimately intertwined with the others in complementary and constructive ways. My research focuses on fish ecology and freshwater aquatic systems writ large, always with an eye towards practical applications and environmental management. My art bridges multiple media (clay, wood, metal, digital). Here is a small window into my world through which I hope to share my passion for understanding nature and using a variety of media to express my creative impulses.
Professional Background
2024-present: Assistant Unit Leader, Michigan Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, U.S. Geological Survey
2024-present: Adjunct Associate Professor, Michigan State University, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
2021-2024: Assistant Professor (Research), University of Cincinnati Biological Sciences
2018-2020: Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati Biological Sciences
2016-2017: Senior Ecologist, United Water Conservation District
2012-2015: Associate Ecologist, United Water Conservation District
2011-2012: Associate Fisheries Biologist, United Water Conservation District
2007-2008: Graduate Research Assistant, Cornell Biogeochemistry and Biocomplexity Initiative
2004-2005: Field & Lab project manager, Arizona State University, Yale, University of Minnesota
2003: South Rim Exotic Plant Manager (Eugene Polk Fellowship), Grand Canyon Revegetation, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
2002-2004: Laboratory/Field Technician, Ecol and Evol Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz
Publications
* undergraduate collaborator, † graduate collaborator
Bergman, J.N.; Robichaud, J.A.; McCutcheon, J; Booth, M.T.; Campbell, B.; Casselberry, G.A.; Cooper, C.R.; Gillanders, B.M.; Griffin, L.P.; Hale, E.; LaRochelle, L.; Murchie, K.J.; Peacock, P.; Swanson, R.G.; Stewart, S.D.; Woodland, R.J.; Zielinski, D.P.; Cooke, S.J.; and Piczak, M.L.. A conceptual framework and methods for studying the connectivity of fishes. Fish and Fisheries. 2026 DOI: 10.1111/faf.70058
Grap, P.†, Matter, S., Lehmann, A., Ward, D., and M. T. Booth. Evaluating large wood additions as a scalable method of urban stream restoration. River Research and Applications. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.70007
Fletcher, T.†, Pritt, J. J., Booth, M.T.. A Comparison of Recreational and Survey-Grade Side-Scan Sonar Systems for Use in Reservoir Fish Habitat Mapping. 2024. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. DOI: 10.1002/nafm.11060
Booth, M.T.. and Ayres, K.A.Temperature and dose response of invasive quagga mussels to various molluskicides. 2024. Management of Biological Invasions. 15(1): 109-129. DOI:10.3391/mbi.2024.15.1.07
Curtis, K.A.*, Israel, G.*, Pastura, L.*, Sanders, A.*, Urbanic, M.*, Matter, S., Booth, M.T.. The Influence of Flow on Movement of a Headwater Specialist in an Intermittent Urban Headwater Stream. 2023. Ecology of Freshwater Fish. DOI:10.1111/eff.12744
Laiveling, A.*, Lorentz, C., and Booth, M.T.. River connectivity increases diversity of fish communities in gravel pit lakes. In press. 2023. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. DOI: 10.1002/tafs.10417
Booth, M.T.. and Culver, C.S. Invasion dynamics of quagga mussels within a Southern California reservoir and its spatially intermittent watershed. 2023. Aquatic Ecology. DOI: 10.1007/s10452-023-10025-x
Booth, M.T., Urbanic, M.*, Wang, X., and Beaulieu, J.J. Bioturbation frequency alters methane emissions from reservoir sediments. 2021. Science of the Total Environment. DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148033
Booth, M.T. Patterns and Drivers of Steelhead Smolt Migration in Southern California. 2020. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 40(4): 1032-1050. DOI:10.1002/nafm.10475
Booth, M.T., Hairston, N. G. H., Jr., Flecker, A. S.. Consumer movement dynamics as hidden drivers of stream habitat structure: suckers as ecosystem engineers on the night shift. 2020. Oikos. 129: 194-208. DOI: 10.1111/oik.06396
Dagit, R., Booth, M.T., Gomez, M., Hovey, T., Howard, S., Lewis, S. D., Jacobson, S., Larson, M., McCanne, D., Robinson, T. H.. Occurrences of Steelhead Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Southern California 1994-2018. 2020. California Fish and Wildlife. 106(1): 39-58.
Howard, S. and Booth, M.T.. Range expansion of the Shimofuri goby (Tridentiger bifasciatus) in southern California, with emphasis on the Santa Clara River. 2016. California Fish and Game. 102 (2):45-49.
Booth, M.T., Hairston, N. G. Jr., Flecker, A. S. Is mobility a fixed trait? Summer movement patterns of catostomids using PIT telemetry. 2014. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 143 (4):1098-1111.
Booth, M.T., Hairston, N. G. Jr., Flecker, A. S. How mobile are fish populations? Diel movement, population turnover, and site fidelity in suckers. 2013. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science. 70 (5):666-677.
Booth, M.T and A. J. Shipley*. Spatial dynamics and growth of two native catastomid species: are movements restricted? 2012. Southwestern Naturalist. 57 (3):248-256.
Capps, K. A., M. T. Booth, S. M. Collins, M. A. Davison, J. M. Moslemi, R. W. El-Sabaawi, J. L. Simonis, and A. S. Flecker. Nutrient diffusing substrata: a field comparison of commonly used methods to assess nutrient limitation. 2011. Journal of the North American Benthological Society. 30 (2):522-532.
Capps, K.A., C.B. Turner, M.T. Booth, D.L. Lombardozzi, S.H. McArt, D. Chai, and N.G. Hairston, Jr. The behavioral and trophic ecology of an introduced fish, Gambusia affinis (Actinopterygii: Poeciliidae), and an endemic shrimp, Halocardina rubra (Malacostraca: Atyidae), in Hawaiian anchialine ponds. 2009. Pacific Science. 63 (1): 27-37.
Creations
Photography
