Garrett HopperDr. Garrett Hopper holding a fish

Assistant Professor

Aquatic Ecology

Room 116, RNR Building
Baton Rouge, LA 70803

phone: (225) 578-0771
email: ghoppe3@lsu.edu 

Research Website

Education

  • Postdoctoral Research, University of Alabama
  • Ph. D. Biology, Kansas State University
  • M. S. Biology,  Kansas State University
  • B. S. Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University

Research Interests

Community ecology, biodiversity-ecosystem funciton, conservation of aquatic ecosystems

Courses Taught

  • RNR 4145 – Ichthyology
  • RNR 4037 – Biology of Fishes
  • RNR 7029 - Special Topics: Freshwater Mussel Ecology

Recent Publications

  • Brunetz, I.A., J.W. Lopez, G.W. Hopper, I. Sánchez González, C.L. Atkinson. 2025. Longevity, not stream flow, explains variation in freshwater mussel growth rates across four rivers. Freshwater Biology, 70:e14373.
  • Haase, J., C.C. Vaughn, G.W. Hopper. 2025. Investigating co-occurrences between freshwater mussels and host-fish species in southeastern Oklahoma. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 40(1), 2506589.
  • Hopper, G.W., E.J. Miller, J. Hofmeier. 2025. Three decades of mussel assemblage recovery dynamics in response to a harvest moratorium and water quality improvements. Freshwater Science. 44(2); 225-239.
  • Hopper, G.W., J.M. Pfieffer, A.J. Skorupa, P.D. Hazelton, C.L. Atkinson, K.S. Cummings. 2025. Patterns from the Freshwater Mussel Host Database. Freshwater Science. 44(2); 214-224.
  • Sánchez González, I., J.R. Bucholz, G.W. Hopper, J.D. Lozier, C.L. Atkinson. 2025. Three dimensional morphometrics reveal patterns of unionid shell variation along environmental gradients. Journal of Biogeography, 0:1-13.
  • Sánchez González, I., G.W. Hopper, J.R. Bucholz, J.D. Lozier, C.L. Atkinson. 2025. A functional morphological classification for North American Freshwater Mussels: Associations between morphology and environmental parameters across spatial scales. Biological Reviews.  https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.70040 

  • Hopper, G.W., E. Miller, W.R. Haag, C.C. Vaughn, D.J. Hornbach, J.W. Jones, C.L. Atkinson. 2024. A test of the loose-equilibrium concept with long-lived organisms: evaluating temporal change in freshwater mussel assemblages. Journal of Animal Ecology. 93(3): 281-293.

  • Hopper, G.W., J.R. Bucholz, T.P. Dubose, K.J. Fogelman, S.M. Keogh, M.E. Kubala, M.B. Lodato, D.H. Nichols, I. Sánchez González, J.M. Pfeiffer, J.A. Stoeckel, J.D. Lozier, C.L. Atkinson. 2023. A trait dataset for freshwater mussels of the United States of America. Scientific Data. 10, article number 745. 

  • Hopper, G.W., I. Sánchez González, J.R. Bucholz, J.D. Lozier, C.L. Atkinson. 2023. Different components of biodiversity mediate two ecosystem functions derived from naturally assembled filter-feeder communities. Oikos. e09699​

  • Hopper, G.W., S. Chen, I. Sánchez González, J.R. Bucholz, Y. Lu, C.L. Atkinson. 2021. Aggregated filter feeders govern the flux and stoichiometry of locally available energy and nutrients in rivers. Functional Ecology 35:1183-1195