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.
  • 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.
  • Vaugn, S.N., G.W. Hopper, I. Sánchez González, J.R. Bucholz, R.C. Garrick, J.D. Lozier, P.D. Johnson, C.L. Atkinson, C.R. Jackson. 2024. Introduction into natural environments shifts the gut microbiome of captivity-raised filter-feeding bivalves. ISME Communications, ycae125.

  • 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., K. B. Gido. C.C. Vaughn. 2023. Indirect functional effects of neighbors on food web compartments could not overcome density-dependent limited growth of a grazing minnow. Food Webs. e00277

  • Atkinson, C.L., G.W. Hopper, D.A. Kreeger, J.W. Lopez, A.N. Maine, A.N. Schwalb, B.J. Sansom, C.C. Vaughn. 2023. Gains and gaps in knowledge surrounding freshwater mollusk ecosystem services. Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation. 26:20–31

  • ​Hopper, G.W., J.K. Buchanan, I. Sánchez González, M.E. Kubala, J.R. Bucholz, M.D. Lodato, J.D. Lozier, C.L. Atkinson. 2022. Little clams with big potential: nutrient release by Corbicula fluminea can exceed that of co-occurring freshwater mussel (Unionidae) assemblages. Biological Invasions. 24:2529-2545. 

  • 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