Who We Are

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Peter Konstantinidis, curator

At the Natural History Museum in London, I developed a strong interest in the early life history of larval fishes. I enjoyed the painstaking attention to detail involved in this type of work and was greatly interested in how the identifying characteristics often differ between larval and adult fishes of the same species. Besides the beauty and the vast diversity of larval fishes that caught my eye, they also play a crucial role in comparative morphology, phylogenetic systematics, conservation and community structures in ecosystems.

My interest and expertise in the identification of larval fishes led to invitations to several larval fish and taxonomic workshops.

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Brian Sidlauskas, curator

brian.sidlauskas@oregonstate.edu

I and my students draw upon the specimens in the Oregon State Ichthyology Collection and our partners to understand the evolution, biodiversity, and systematics of fishes, with particular focus on the freshwater fishes of North America’s Pacific Northwest, the Neotropics and Africa. We use genetic, anatomical, geographic and ecological information to reconstruct evolutionary relationships, discover and describe new species, understand how fishes diversify their shapes and diet, or predict how alterations to environment might affect fish distributions. We also use the collection to teach others how to understand fish biology, identify fish species, and use those skills to manage and protect the world’s tremendous biodiversity of fishes.