The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

The Nature Conservancy is excited to announce its newest hires, Dr. Andrew Tucker as the Conservancy’s Great Lakes aquatic invasive species applied ecologist, and Edward Stanton as restoration and stewardship specialist for southwest Michigan.

Tucker will work primarily on eDNA surveillance projects, as well as with the Conservancy’s Grand Traverse Bay spawning reef predator control, and work on organisms in the Conservancy’s trade risk assessment project. Stanton will be responsible for the restoration of preserves in southwest Michigan, including those in the Paw Paw Watershed.

“Both Andrew and Ed have extensive experience in their respective specialties,” said Helen Taylor, state director in Michigan for The Nature Conservancy. “They will be able to apply lessons learned during those previous experiences and enhance The Nature Conservancy’s current projects here in Michigan and the Great Lakes.”

Tucker spent the majority of his academic career studying photo-toxicity of fossil fuel contaminants on marine vertebrates and invertebrates in the Gulf of Mexico, and assessing the role of ultraviolet radiation in mediating warm water fish invasions in Lake Tahoe. He received his PhD from Miami University, and spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow there.

“His understanding of freshwater ecosystems and disruptions to them will be crucial for preventing and controlling aquatic invasive species,” Taylor said.

Stanton received his master’s degree in ecology from the State University of New York, where his research focused on the use of insect communities as a measure of habitat quality. He previously worked in California with both the Center for Natural Lands, where he managed 7,000 acres of conservation land, and Management and the American Land Conservancy where he helped the organization acquire an 10,000 acres for permanent protection.