Big Muddy Speaker Series

Presentation by fisheries biologist Corey Dunn, University of Missouri – Columbia and the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

• 7 p.m. presentation (6 p.m. Social Hour)
• Les Bourgeois Vineyards Bistro in Rocheport, MO
• Google Map – Directions Below

The Bistro Restaurant is now closed on Tuesday, but the bar will be open. You ARE welcome to come early, bring some food and gather with friends before the presentation. Speaker Series attendees are welcome after 5 p.m. 

Hosted by Missouri River Relief

Curious onlookers often pose the same question to biologists loading their gear at boat-ramps across Missouri – “What fish are in the river?”

Missourians recognize the names of fish occasionally in the news – invasive carps, imperiled sturgeons, and river-monster-esque catfish. Few, however, are aware that Missouri’s rivers are among earth’s most biologically diverse, and only a fraction of the fish underlying this biodiversity could possibly be mentioned during a hurried boat-ramp exchange.

University of Missouri PhD Candidate Corey Dunn will be giving us a proper introduction to Missouri’s immense fish diversity. He is offering a figurative float alongside a research team tasked with innovating ways to study the fish that live in Missouri’s most underexplored rivers. We will discover the linkages between the Missouri River and it’s principal tributaries, while learning about the many sampling methods that inform efforts to conserve the numerous fish dependent on Missouri’s riverine ecosystems.

Missouri Saddled Darter – a fish that can only be found in the Moreau, Gasconade and Osage Rivers. photo courtesy of Corey Dunn.

Directions

• 14020 W. Hwy BB, Rocheport, MO
• Take I-70 to the Rocheport, MO, exit (Exit #115). It’s the first exit east of the Missouri River.
• Head north toward Rocheport.
• After about a mile, turn left at the sign for Les Bourgeois Bistro. Follow the signs to the Bistro. You will probably need to park in the lot above the Bistro and walk the trail down.
• The presentations are held in upstairs in the restaurant. The restaurant is no longer open on Tuesdays but the bar is! You are welcome to bring your own food or snacks.