Choosing a career in ichthyology means deciding to study fishes, sharks, rays, sawfish, and more. Not everyone in the field chose their careers for the same reasons. here are some of the current and previous Museum ichthyologists’ stories.

Careers in Ichthyology

Larry PageLarry Page
Curator of Fishes

What interesting discoveries have you made in your studies?

“I have discovered and described about 40 species of fishes previously unknown to science. I also have studied and described the breeding behaviors of several species of North American fishes and develop a system for classifying behaviors that has gained wide acceptance in the ichthyological community. In the process of studying breeding behaviors, I also discovered egg mimics in darters – structures that develop on males and look like eggs.”

Robert H. RobinsRobert H. Robins
Ichthyology Collection Manager

Describe your work and research:

“My job as Ichthyology Collection Manager is largely to facilitate the science of those ichthyologists that use the UF Collection of Fishes. To that end, I am charged with directing the activities of others in the division such that the collection is well maintained, organized, and readily accessible to research ichthyologists. In many ways, a scientific collection of specimens functions much like a library. Scientists borrow fishes and obtain information from the specimens that is useful for interpreting what is actually going on in the real world.”

Tyler Bowling
FPSR Manager/ PhD Student

Describe your work and research:

“I focus on the evolution of sharks via ecology and genetics. I also maintain on the various parts of the Florida Program for Shark Research, including the International shark attack file.”

David Boyd
Collection Technician

Describe your work and research:

“My research examines the systematics of freshwater fishes. Within biology, systematics encompasses the identification and naming of organisms (taxonomy) and the classification of species according to their evolutionary relationships. Put another way, I describe new fish species and study how they are related to one another. I also help organize the large collection of fish specimens here at Florida Museum, which other scientists and students use to study the broad diversity of fishes.”

Also hear from some of our former ichthyologists who are now working elsewhere in the Museum or in the field of ichthyology: