Darren Gillis

Darren Gillis is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Science. His work focuses on fisheries dynamics, movement ecology, foraging behavior, and quantitative methods in fisheries and ecology. He leads the Gillis Lab, which specializes in analyzing commercial fisheries data to understand fleet and fish population dynamics.

• University: University of Manitoba
• School: Faculty of Science
• Department: Biological Sciences
• Email: Darren.Gillis@umanitoba.ca

His research integrates behavioral ecology, micro-economics, and operations research to model fisher behavior and fish population responses. Key collaborations include Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Manitoba Natural Resources (MNR), and IMARES (Dutch Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies). Projects span Lake Winnipeg, the Canadian Arctic, and the Atlantic, examining species like walleye, sauger, and Arctic charr.

Recent publications highlight trends in fishing effort allocation, Bayesian movement modeling, and environmental impacts such as invasive mussels and climate change. The lab also developed methods for stock discrimination using scale shape analysis and telemetry bias correction in shallow lakes.

• PhD Students: I.P. Munaweera Arachchilage (2023), B. Biddlecombe (2023)
• M.Sc. Students: H. Chymy (2024), L. Alsip (2024)
• Collaborative Networks: DFO, MNR, IMARES, Experimental Lakes Area