Education

• M.Sc., 2005, University of Washington (Aquatic and Fishery Science)

      Thesis: The influence of orientation of the target strength of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) 

[Advisor: John Horne]

• B.S. cum Laude, 2000, State University of New York College at Geneseo (Biology)

Research Interests

For my dissertation I am researching the movement patterns and mortality rates of summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) using acoustic telemetry, archival tags and conventional tags.  I am using linear models to analyze data collected with acoustic telemetry and archival tags in order to better understand the localized movement patterns of Chesapeake Bay summer flounder relative to multiple environmental variables (e.g. time-of-day, water temperature, and tidal state).  To estimate summer flounder mortality rates I am developing new tagging models to analyze conventional tagging data collected by the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP).  The VGFTP relies on hundreds of volunteer recreational anglers to tag multiple species of fish throughout Virginia.  As a result of this extensive tagging effort the program has collected an abundance of recapture data.  However, these data violate a number of assumptions of the standard tagging models used to estimate fish mortality rates (i.e.the Cormack-Jolly-Seber model).  To address these assumption violations I am developing models to account for tag loss, tagging related mortality, and emigration.  These models will estimate natural and fishing mortality rates for summer flounder, information that is critical to the management of this species.   

Publications

Peer Reviewed

• Henderson, M.J., Horne, J.K., and Towler, R.J. 2008. The influence of beam position and swimming direction on fish target strength. ICES Journal of Marine Science 65: 226-237

• Henderson, M.J. and Horne, J.K. 2007. Comparison of in situ, ex situ, and backscatter model estimates of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) target strength. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 64: 1781-1794.

 

Other Publications

• Henderson, M.J. and Fabrizio, M.C. 2011. Migration patterns of adult summer flounder from Chesapeake Bay: implications for stock structure. Final Report to Virginia Marine Resources Commission Marine Recreation Fishing Advisory Board, April 2011.

• Fabrizio, M.C., Henderson, M.J., and Lucy, J.A. 2007. Understanding localized movements and habitat associations of summer flounder in Chesapeake Bay using passive acoustic arrays.  Final Report to Virginia Marine Resources Commission Marine Recreational Fishing Advisory Board, December 2007.

• Henderson, M.J. 2005. The influence of orientation on the target strength of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus). M.Sc. thesis. University of Washington, U.S.A.