Thaïs Bernos

Dr. Thaïs Bernos is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Biology at the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Her research examines fish as interconnected systems spanning from genetic to ecosystem levels, with a focus on maintaining local communities' cultural and practical connections to fish and aquatic ecosystems.

Dr. Bernos' educational background includes a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Toronto (2023), an M.Sc. in Ecology from Concordia University (2016), and a B.Sc. in Biology from Concordia University (2013).

Her research interests center on fish evolution, ecology, and movement, with particular emphasis on how genetic diversity, phenotypic plasticity, and ecological processes facilitate fish adaptation to rapidly changing environments. She uniquely integrates biological perspectives with social dimensions through ethnobiological approaches to understand the diverse, dynamic relationships between fish and human communities.

• Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2022-2023
• Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, 2019-2022
• Ontario Trillium Scholarship, 2018-2022
• Quebec Center for Biodiversity Sciences Excellence Awards (2014, 2015)

As director of the F.I.S.H. Lab, Dr. Bernos leads research on habitat fragmentation effects in Lake Champlain, angler-mediated evolution in recreational fisheries, and Indigenous relationships with Lake Whitefish. Her lab combines field data, genomics, and ethnobiology to develop management strategies that account for feedback between fish, ecosystems, and human communities.