I was born in Melbourne, Australia. I was first attracted to fish keeping
in 1979 (I still don't know how or why!). At my peak, I was maintaining 2
fishrooms with up to 40 aquaria of Australian natives, most of which I had
collected or bred myself. My grandfather hooked me on angling after a visit
to Sydney Harbour in 1982. Around 1985 I became keenly interested in the
conservation and biology of Australian native freshwater fish. Over the
last 10 years I have collected fish extensively throughout central and
south-eastern Australia.
My primary academic interest is desert spring conservation and ecology. I
began investigating springs in 1990 and was fortunate early on to discover
the redfinned blue eye, a new sub family of fish from the desert. In 1994,
I moved to Adelaide to work for the South Australian Research and
Development Institute to work on desert springs with Bryan Pierce. In
September 1994, I changed hemispheres to attend the University of
California, Davis for one year to complete my undergraduate degree as an
exchange student. While in North America, I have traveled and collected
fish throughout the south-western deserts. I have also undertaken research
on pupfish and springs in Death Valley/Ash Meadows. At present I am
bouncing around the US waiting to get into graduate school. My short term
plans are to undertake graduate work on desert springs in North America,
Australia, and hopefully elsewhere.
Tootles
Peter J. Unmack acn-l list manager
springfish at mail.utexas.edu or pjunmack at ucdavis.edu
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