CFANS students reel in a fin-tastic catch during Mississippi River fieldwork

LI YAN TAN, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION, BA '25

Last week, as we celebrated National Gar Week (November 3-7), two students from the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology (FWCB) had quite the story to share. Their trip to Mississippi on October 20 was filled with long days in the field, muddy riverbanks and an unforgettable encounter with one of North America’s most ancient and fascinating fish: the alligator gar.

A hands-on research adventure

Graduate student Luxia Feyereisen, incoming MS student Gabrielle Gonzales, and FWCB undergraduate alum Jenna Pearson joined Solomon David, PhD, and research partners for fieldwork along the Mississippi River floodplain in Mississippi. The trip was part of an ongoing research collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, focusing on using gars as indicators of ecosystem health and restoration success.

A moment of awe

For Gabrielle, it was an experience she’ll never forget. She shared that when she first learned she would be joining the trip, she felt a little intimidated since most adult alligator gars are longer than she is tall. Still, she said she was excited to find out what the experience would be like. Once the team pulled in their first gar, her excitement turned into pure awe. “It was surreal to be handling such a huge, beautiful fish,” she said. “I don’t think I’d ever interacted with such a large wild animal in its habitat before.”

Teamwork in action

Luxia, who documented much of the trip with a GoPro®, said she was so excited that she couldn’t help but shriek when she first saw the massive gar. She described the moment as amazing and said pictures and videos don’t do the fish justice. “The size and charisma of these fish are just spectacular,” she said. She said what made the day unforgettable was the teamwork: the shared effort of setting the nets, handling the fish and gathering data out on the water.

Long days, lasting memories

The fieldwork itself was no small task. Each day began around 5:30 a.m. and involved hours of setting and checking large gill nets to capture the massive fish. The crew collected fin clips for stable isotope analysis, inserted trackable tags for future monitoring and extracted otoliths from smaller gar species, which are ear stones that help determine a fish’s age. Every task contributed to larger research efforts to understand and conserve the Mississippi River ecosystem.

Luxia said that although the days were long and demanding, they ended on a high note. After finishing work for the day, the team would regroup at a local restaurant to celebrate a successful day of research and share their favorite moments.

Lessons beyond the classroom

Both students agreed that the trip taught them lessons they could never get in a classroom. Gabrielle said the fieldwork was incredibly hands-on and that it allowed her to experience a dynamic environment and handle valuable animals in real time. Luxia shared that the experience also gave her a new perspective on conservation. “Conservation isn’t just fieldwork,” she said. “It’s about connecting what we do in the field to real-world policy and management. Seeing how passionate people like Scott Lemmons from The Nature Conservancy are about restoration reminded me that true change starts with dedication and teamwork.”

Conserving a living river

Solomon David, who shared the video from the trip during the National Gar Week, explained that this fieldwork is part of his lab’s ongoing efforts to better understand and conserve Mississippi River ecosystems from Minnesota all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. The research team safely released all large alligator gars after tagging and sampling them, including one that measured nearly eight feet long and weighed approximately 300 pounds. 

A new appreciation for the river

Gabrielle said the trip gave her a whole new appreciation for the Mississippi River. “It was humbling to see the river in such a different light,” she said. “Though it’s the same river that flows through the Twin Cities, the landscape and ecosystem are completely different.”

The spirit of National Gar Week

For both students, the fieldwork was a reminder of why they chose to study fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology in the first place. Their experience in Mississippi captured the spirit of National Gar Week perfectly: curiosity, conservation and a deep respect for the incredible creatures that live beneath the surface.

P.S! The popularity of Gar Week is simply gar-gantuan! To date, Gar Week content has reached 23+ million people, making it the biggest Gar Week since it began in 2018.  

Gar Week is co-led by GarLab and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.