Anne KapuscinskiAnne R. Kapuscinski

Professor, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology
Director, Institute for Social, Economic, and Ecological Sustainability (ISEES)
Associate Director, MacArthur Interdisciplinary Program on Global Change, Sustainability and Justice Extension Specialist, Minnesota Sea Grant College Program (Aquaculture and Biotechnology)

Detailed Professional Website
Phone: 612-624-3019
ISEES Phone: 612-624-7719
email: kapus001@umn.edu
Ph. D. Oregon State University

Fields of Interest

Fish conservation genetics, environmental policy (foci on biosafety assessment of genetically engineered organisms and impacts of aquaculture), sustainable aquaculture, Pacific salmon rehabilitation and conservation, transdisciplinary analysis of sustainability issues.

Courses

Research

Loss of genetic diversity threatens the sustainability of capture fisheries and aquaculture. I am interested in understanding the influence of genetic makeup on long-term sustainability and evolutionary potential of managed populations of fish and shellfish. Current projects in my lab include: a comparison of 20-year trends in genetic diversity and productivity in steelhead trout populations based on analysis of DNA polymorphisms resolved from historical collections of fish scales; performance evaluations of different walleye populations in the same lakes facilitated by non-lethal screening with diagnostic DNA markers; examination of genetic effects of hatchery rainbow trout on naturalized steelhead populations by screening historical tissue collections with diagnostic DNA markers and testing survival of pure and hybrid crosses in isolated stream reaches; and development and application of DNA markers for resolving population structure in yellow perch in the Great Lakes.

I am active in analysis and formulation of policies affecting the sustainability of aquatic biodiversity. Recent efforts include: rehabilitation of Pacific salmon and steelhead populations; genetic guidelines for operation of hatchery programs, particularly for recovery of depleted populations; biosafety assessment of genetically engineered organisms; and formulation of an environmental assessment tool for private aquaculture in the Great Lakes Basin. I led over 100 scientists, government staff, and representatives of public interest organizations and biotechnology companies to develop biosafety guidelines for research and development of genetically engineered fish and shellfish (available at www.isb.vt.edu/perfstands/psmain.cfm). As a member of the Scientists' Working Group on Biosafety, I co-authored a more general biosafety guide that was prepared to inform international negotiations of the biosafety protocol under the biodiversity treaty and to assist citizens and decision-makers around the world (see "A Manual for Assessing Ecological and Human Health Effects of Genetically Engineered Organisms" available at www.edmonds-institute.org). A new thrust is to examine the capability of different aquaculture systems to sustain nature and people. We are accomplishing this through research on the environmental history of salmon fishing and farming in the Pacific Basin; and a student's research in Thailand on effects of hybrid catfish farming on genetic integrity of the native catfish species and livelihoods of catfish farmers.

My efforts as founding Director of the Institute for Social, Economic, and Ecological Sustainability (ISEES) aim to engage people in academia, government, and non-governmental organizations in transdisciplinary and cross-cultural analysis of sustainability issues with a focus on international comparisons. My personal activities at ISEES currently include: research and policy analysis on cross-sectoral governance of biotechnology; and a large collaborative effort to develop recommendations for U.S. organic aquaculture standards.

Selected Publications

  • Caroffino, D., L.M. Miller, A.R. Kapuscinski and J.J. Ostazeski. 2008. Stocking success of local-origin fry and impact of hatchery ancestry: monitoring a new steelhead stocking program in a Minnesota tributary to Lake Superior. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 65: 309-318.

  • Bartley, D. and A. R. Kapuscinski. 2007. What makes fishery enhancements responsible? In Nielsen, J., J. Dodson, K. Friedland, T. Hamon, N. Hughes, J. Musick and E. Verspoor (eds). Proceedings of the Fourth World Fisheries Congress: Reconciling Fisheries with Conservation. AmericanFisheries Society Symposium49, American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. In press.

  • FAO/WHO 2007. (Kapuscinski chair) FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals, Geneva, 26 February-2 March 2007. Available at: www.who.int/foodsafety/biotech/meetings/animals_2007/en/index.html

  • Hayes, K., A.R. Kapuscinski, G. Denya, S. Li and R. Devlin. 2007. Chapter 1: Introduction to environmental risk assessment for transgenic fish. Pages 1-28 in Kapuscinski et al. (eds). Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms, Vol. 3: Methodologies for Transgenic Fish, CABI Publishing, UK.

  • Kapuscinski, A. R. and L. M. Miller. 2007. Genetic Guidelines for Fisheries Management, Second Edition. Minnesota Sea Grant Publication F22. 116 pp. Available at: www.seagrant.umn.edu/publications/F22

  • Kapuscinski, A.R., K. Hayes, S. Li, and G. Dana, eds. 2007. Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms, Vol. 3: Methodologies for Transgenic Fish, CABI Publishing, UK. 304 pp.

  • Kapuscinski, A.R., J. Hard, K. Paulson, R. Neira, A. Ponniah, W. Kamonrat, W. Mwanja, I. Fleming, J. Gallardo, R. Devlin, and J. Trisak. 2007. Chapter 5: Approaches to assessing gene flow. Pages 112-150 in Kapuscinski et al. (eds). Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms, Vol. 3: Methodologies for Transgenic Fish, CABI Publishing, UK.

  • Kapuscinski, A.R., G. Dana, K. Hayes, S. Li, K. Nelson, Y.K. Nam, Z. Gong, R. Devlin, G. Mair, and W. Senanan. 2007. Chapter 10: Summary and synthesis. Pages 272-289 in Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms, Vol. 3: Methodologies for Transgenic Fish, CABI Publishing, UK.