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Vanessa von Biela Title: Fishery Biologist Address: 4210 University Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508-4626 Phone: (907) 786-7073 Fax: (907) 786-7150 Email: vvonbiela@usgs.gov

Education and/or Training

M.S.	2007	University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK	Biological Sciences
B.S.	2004	University of California, Santa Barbara, CA	Zoology

Areas of Specialization and/or Research Interests

Otolith microstructure; age and growth of fish; environmental impacts on growth; population dynamics; life history; physiological ecology; phenotypic plasticity

Professional Experience

2007 - Present	Fishery Biologist, USGS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
2005 - 2007	Research Assistant, University of Alaska Anchorage
2007	Marine Mammal and Bird Observer, USFWS
2006	Marine Mammal Observer, LGL Alaska Research
2004 - 2005	Teaching Assistant, University of Alaska Anchorage
2003 - 2004	Rehabilitation Supervisor, Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center
2003 - 2004	Hearst Scholar, Santa Barbara Natural History Museum

Professional Activities and/or Memberships

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
American Fisheries Society
Society of Marine Mammalogy
The Wildlife Society
2005-2006 Student Representitive, UAA Graduate Academic Board
2005-2007 Chair, UAA Graduate Student Association

Honors and/or Awards

2007 Graduate Hooding Ceremony invited speaker
2006 NSF EPSCoR Student Travel Award
2006 Kodiak Whalefest invited speaker
2005 NSF EPSCoR Student Travel Award

Significant Recent Publications

von Biela, V.R., C.E. Zimmerman, and L.L. Moulton. In prep. Environmentally-induced variation in growth rates of Arctic cisco.

von Biela, V.R., V.A. Gill, J.L. Bodkin, and J.M. Burns. Phenotypic plasticity in the average age of first reproduction in northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni). Under review for the Journal of Mammalogy.

Nielsen, J. L., C. Zimmerman, A. Ramey, S. Graziano, and V. von Biela. 2008. Testing molecular and otolith tools to investigate population of origin and migration in Arctic cisco found in the Colville River, Alaska.Technical Report to MMS OCS Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, AK. 51 pp.

von Biela, V.R., J.W. Testa, V.A. Gill and J.M. Burns.  2008.  Evaluating cementum to determine past reproduction in northern sea otters.  Journal of Wildlife Management 72(3):618-624.

von Biela, V.R. 2007. Evaluating and comparing reproductive parameters of northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) in Alaska. M.S. Thesis. University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK.