Emilie Hickox, M.S., Wildlife Ecology

Advisor: Joseph Zydlewski – Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Start Date: Summer 2022
B.S. 2015, Environmental Science, Allegheny College, PA
emilie.hickox@maine.edu, 207.581.2821

Brief Biography: I’m a non-traditional student who grew up in Ohio, received my bachelor’s from Allegheny College, and has lived the past four years in New York. My curiosity and enthusiasm for the water have led me on numerous adventures and professional experiences sailing in the Great Lakes, French Polynesia, the Caribbean, & the New England Seaboard. In 2017, I began work as a seasonal technician for Cornell University studying river herring on the Hudson River. Later that year I stayed on the team as a state employee studying striped bass, Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, American shad, and blue crabs. It was during my four years working on the Hudson River that I discovered my passion for fish ecology & conservation, and honed my skills as a licensed boat captain. This spring I was offered the unique opportunity to get back to my fisheries roots and carry out my own research on alewife herring. 

Current Research: My current research utilizes radio telemetry to investigate alewife (A. pseudoharengus) approach and passage to two dams along the St. Croix River. I hope that my findings can help in the efforts to increase fish passage closer to pre-obstruction numbers.