Since he was a boy growing up in Berkey, Ohio, Kevin Keeler has always had fish tanks. Today, he has just a couple more — ones that can hold more than a thousand gallons each.

As manager of the aquatic research laboratory at the U.S. Geological Survey – Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, Keeler helps coordinate research with fisheries biologists from across the region. The facility is home to more than 30,000 gallons of water capable of rearing fish from egg all the way to up to adult.

Research at the laboratory is centered appropriately on the many issues facing the Great Lakes. Studies range from developing new rearing protocols for species that have experienced population declines in the Great Lakes, to exploring advanced technologies with autonomous sampling in offshore benthic habitats, to housing invasive sea lamprey that the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission uses at education and outreach events across the state.

Keeler is also one of several coordinators in rotation for the Great Lakes Bowl held each February at the Dana Building. The event is a regional competition for the National Ocean Sciences Bowl – an aquatic-themed quiz bowl for high school teams. Keeler has helped put on the event since 2012, when Jim Diana handed its leadership down to the then-student team of Keeler, Maureen Lynch (MS ’13), and Whitney Conard (MS ’15). In 2017, more than 500 teachers and students from high schools across Michigan and Ohio participated, along with an almost equal number of volunteers from SEAS, the University of Michigan, and local research institutions (including the Great Lakes Science Center and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission).

“It has been an incredible experience these past years in not only helping with this event, but seeing the number of bright students interested in all things ocean, lake, and water,” Keeler said. “This is the next crop of minds that will soon be tackling the global water issues we currently face.”