Yifan Zhang, Ph.D. Student
We are thrilled to welcome Ph.D. student Yifan to our IOCS and ShiRP team. Yifan's journey in marine and aquatic ecosystem conservation is deeply rooted in his childhood experiences growing up near a river, collecting stones and netting fish with his grandfather. He pursued his passion and flourished during his undergraduate studies at the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, China, where in 2019 he earned a B.S.
in Environmental Science with honors.
His commitment to ecology led him to actively participate in the NottinGreen Club, significantly contributing to carbon emission reduction initiatives on campus, and volunteering with the NGO Let Birds Fly to protect bird populations. Yifan further honed his expertise at the University of Michigan, obtaining an M.S. in Conservation Biology in 2021. His research there explored spatiotemporal distributions of zooplankton community biomass in relation to phytoplankton biomass, nutrient availability, and temperature in Lake Michigan.
Yifan joined Ohio State University in July 2021 and participated in innovative research initiatives with the Ohio Division of Wildlife. His work sought to explore habitat use, prey-resource use, and trophic interactions among a stocked predator, Blue Catfish, and other fish predators (Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Saugeye) in Ohio reservoirs using net collections, fisheries acoustics, YSI sonde profiling, diet analyses, and biomarker analyses (stable isotopes, fatty acids).
Yifan's excitement to join IOCS and ShiRP stems from his desire to apply ecological theory to real-world conservation efforts. He looks forward to utilizing his expertise in ecosystem modeling to unravel the intricate connections between marine fisheries, environmental restoration policies, and climate change.