Mary Jo Wevers, PhD
CEO
Mary Jo received her B.A. degree in Aquatic Biology in 1976 from the University of California at Santa Barbara where she studied both freshwater and marine ecosystems. She was employed as a research technician at the UCSB Marine Science Center from 1974-1976. After moving to Oregon in 1977, Mary Jo worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an analytical chemist in a lake eutrophication project. In graduate school at Oregon State University, Mary Jo studied macroinvertebrate communities in streams. After earning her M.S. in Fisheries in 1982 she was employed by the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife as a Senior Research Assistant on several watershed and stream projects. She also began work on her Ph.D. examining life history strategies of Pacific salmon. In 1988 she was hired by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to write fish management plans for the Bonneville Power Administration. She received her Ph.D. in Fisheries Science from Oregon State University in 1993. In 1995 she left ODFW to join her husband Bob Wisseman in his consulting business, which they incorporated under the name Aquatic Biology Associates, Inc. Mary Jo continues working in her roles as CEO, CFO and General Manager of ABA, in charge of organizational management, project oversight, and sample processing.
Robert W. Wisseman, M.S.
Senior Scientist
Bob received his B.A. degree in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College in Washington in 1976. As part of his undergraduate training he participated in bioassessment studies of an urban lake in Tacoma and intertidal invertebrate studies in the Nisqually Delta Estuary. In 1987 he received his M.S. degree in Aquatic Entomology from Oregon State University. Although caddisflies were the focus of his thesis and published papers, Bob gained broad experience in stream ecology as a Research Assistant at OSU from 1980-86. Using benthic invertebrate communities in freshwater to assess biological integrity was an emerging field in the 1980s. Since 1990 and continuing today, Bob assists the US Environmental Protection Agency, other federal agencies, and many western states and Canadian provinces in developing their biomonitoring programs. With his acquired knowledge of the taxonomy and biology of freshwater invertebrates, Bob began an independent laboratory as a sole proprietor in 1984. In 1995 Bob’s wife Mary Jo, joined his business and Aquatic Biology Associates, Inc. was formally incorporated. Bob is certified by the Society for Freshwater Science in Western EPT taxa, and is a recognized expert in western North American caddisflies.
Barbara Hayford, PhD
Chironomid Taxonomist
Barbara earned a B.S. in Biology and English from Metropolitan State University, Denver and an M.S. in Applied Natural Science from Colorado State University, Pueblo. She worked on thermal spring ecology for her M.S. Thesis under Scott Herrman and Jim Sublette. Barbara left the Rocky Mountain Region and headed to Lawrence, Kansas where she completed a Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Kansas under Len Ferrington. Her doctoral dissertation focused on alpha taxonomy and phylogeny of Paratendipes (Diptera: Chironomidae). She served as the Assistant Director of the Central Plains Center for Bioassessment at the Kansas Biological Survey under Don Huggins prior to teaching in the Nebraska State College System. Her other work includes NSF funded surveys of macroinvertebrates in Mongolia, production taxonomy with Rhithron Associates, Inc., and directing two small natural history museums. Barbara’s research interests include biodiversity analysis, particularly of chironomids, general freshwater ecology, and Diptera in phytotelmata. She is a member of the Society for Freshwater Science and the Association for the Study of Limnology and Oceanography. Currently she is searching for elusive marine midges along the coasts of the Pacific Northwest.
Associate Scientists
Aquatic Biology Associates has developed and maintained relationships with many of the leading freshwater invertebrate specialists in North America and the world over the past 37 years. career. ABA routinely consults with taxonomic specialists to verify identifications. ABA conscientiously archives and curates invertebrate specimens from projects that are of value to the wider scientific community. We regularly donate invertebrate specimens to North American specialists to aid taxonomic revisions and life history studies; and routinely deposit specimens of value at the Monte L. Bean Museum of Natural History, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
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Dr. Wevers benefits ABA clients through a rare combination of scientific expertise and project management experience. I have long been impressed by her acumen in both lab and field settings and her capacity to bring value at all phases of planning, implementing, and reporting for fisheries and macro-invertebrate projects. She is a highly skilled communicator and accomplished in coordinating, managing, and collaborating with diverse groups of people, including scientific colleagues, technical professionals, graduate students, and resource managers.
– Kelly M. Burnett, PhD
Aquatic Ecologist, Consultant
Having known Mary Jo Wevers for 35 years, I have experienced firsthand the evolution of her expertise and abilities in stream ecology. Mary Jo has acquired considerable experience in the sampling of stream benthic macroinvertebrate taxonomy, and community analysis. In the spirit of her mentor, Dr. Charles Warren, Mary Jo has used innovative and cutting edge methods for analyzing watershed environments and assessing stream ecosystems integrity.
– Robert Hoffman, Ecologist
U.S. Geological Survey (retired)