Research Fisheries Biologist, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Graduate Program Affiliate
Nick Wegner, PhD, is a research fisheries biologist at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, CA and has been part of USD’s graduate program affiliates since 2017. His research investigates the physiology and behavior of marine fishes and invertebrates to gather needed biological information (e.g., pertaining to habitat utilization, responses to changes in the environment, and interactions with fisheries) for commercially-important and overexploited species. Such work ranges from measuring fish bioenergetics and environmental tolerances in the laboratory and experimental aquarium at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center to at-sea research on fish movements and catch-and-release mortality. His areas of expertise include marine organismal physiology and behavior.