Peter B. Moyle
Peter B. Moyle (born 1942 in Minnesota) is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and associate director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis. He has studied the ecology and conservation of fishes in freshwater and estuarine habitats in California (US) for over fifty years. He has a special interest in salmonid fishes and in the state’s highly endemic freshwater and estuarine fish fauna. Moyle has authored or co-authored more than 270 peer-reviewed publications, including 10 books, and over 225 other publications, including  ca. 75 blogs. Areas of research. Moyle's primary areas of research include ecology and conservation of California’s endemic fishes and their habitats, the biology of the state’s freshwater, estuarine, and anadromous fishes (native and non-native), and the formation of novel aquatic ecosystems. Much of his early work in California involved surveying the distribution and abundance of native fish species in order to establish a baseline understanding of the scope of the state’s fish diversity. This includes research over 40 years of monthly fish and macroinvertebrate sampling at multiple locations in Suisun Marsh. Examples include historical  reviews of California’s two primary salmon species — Chinook salmon and coho salmon — both of which are the current focus of intense management efforts and public interest because of their endangered population status despite their significant economic and cultural value. Other early projects involved the identification and spatial delineation of different habitat types important to the state’s freshwater species that could be used in management planning and application. From the early days of Moyle’s career at UC Davis, his reputation of “defending the underfish” (displayed on the Peanuts cartoon outside his office door) has profoundly pervaded the fisheries  profession. He started the ichthyology collection at the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology in 1972; today, the collection contains 30,000 specimens and is among the most important modern collections of inland and native California fishes due to Moyle's ongoing involvement. In addition to research efforts on the Central Valley region comprising the Sacramento-San Joaquin River system, Moyle’s research group has conducted studies on the fish faunas and habitats in the Klamath/Trinity River and Eel River systems, the 2nd and 3rd largest river systems of California. His recent work has also focused on the ecology and  management of floodplains, and applying reconciliation ecology to the management of the San Francisco Estuary. His current principal study areas are the streams of California and the San Francisco Estuary. He has also recently collaborated with geneticists to further resolve the taxonomic relationships and evolutionary history of specific native fish species that heretofore had been assigned ambiguous taxonomic categorization. One of Peter’s most profound influence on fish biology and fisheries science has been through his extensive cadre of students and other colleagues. Selected associated activities. Outside of his university duties, Moyle has participated in other activities, including, for example : Selected publications. Author or co-author of over 270 peer-reviewed publications, including 10 books/monographs. Ca. 250 blogs, op-eds, book reviews, etc. Contributions from Peter Moyle, with additional contributions by Joe Cech and Ron Yoshiyama, Professors Emeritus of Fish Biology, UC Davis.