Sheila Harris: It's just good genes

This photo shows a young man and a young woman, both clad in chest waders and dark colored baseball caps and standing in a river holding a large sampling net made of long poles, white netting, and floats. — Sheila Harris (right) and Tomas Nocera sampling in a New River tributary.

The following story was written in April 2019 by Victoria Biggs in ENGL 4824: Science Writing as part of a collaboration between the English department and the Center for Communicating Science.

Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics, performed seemingly simple experiments on pea plants, studying their trait inheritance via their flower colors, that led to science’s ability to not only advance in the study of genetics, but also in the study of human DNA, RNA, chromosomal organization, and the study of heredity in all living things. His simple observations of purple and white pea flowers and how their offspring’s flower color was determined by the parent’s own color makeup has led to much more than he could have imagined and his work has inspired many scientists to follow in his footsteps.

Sheila Harris is one such scientist. In the last year of her Master of Science program at Virginia Tech, her focus in the College of Natural Resources and Environment is on the conservation genetics of fisheries. Much like Mendel, she is studying genetics--in specific, the way genetics can affect the overall sustainability of two game fish species, Walleye, Sander vitreus, and Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis. When I asked Harris to describe her project in a nutshell, she explained, “I am studying population genetics assessment of Striped Bass in the Roanoke River basin and across the Atlantic coast. I am also studying genetic differentiation of Walleye across eastern North America as well as performing genetic marker assisted management of Walleye in the New River area.”

This photo shows a dark-haired white woman wearung a gray t-shirt and a baseball cap with sunglasses perched on top. She is holding a large (two foot long?) fish. In the background is placid water and trees along a shoreline. — Sheila Harris at Foster Falls collecting Walleye on their spawning run with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

In other words, Harris is studying the way Striped Bass reproduce, as they have a historic tendency to become inbred, thereby creating sustainability issues within their populations. This kind of genetic study helps strengthen populations that may or may not have been negatively impacted by humans in the past. Her study of Walleye populations resembles Mendel’s original studies in that she is comparing two populations of Walleye that live in the same general area and have begun competing against each other for mates, food sources, and territory.

Harris's journey to studying these two game species had twists and turns. As she was working on her bachelor's degree in biology at West Virginia University, she knew she wanted to work with animals professionally but also realized, “I just don’t want to go to Veterinary School, so I guess I have to find a different way to interact with animals.”

By expressing this concern to her academic advisor, she was led on an adventure to Madagascar where she studied invasive species, including a strain of invasive Japanese Tree and the common brown rat, Rattus rattus. Studying these species gave her a first-hand look into how studying the basic biology of animals and finding out how they do or do not fit into a certain habitat can have a major ecological impact, which in turn impacts the way humans interact, live, and sometimes benefit from the animals around them.

This photo shows a young woman dressed in shorts and a jacket seated on the large horizontal branch of a baobob tree, about five feet off the ground, with twin trunks soaring into the sky behind her. — Sheila Harris sitting on a branch of one of Madagascar’s famous baobab trees.

Upon returning to West Virginia to finish her undergraduate degree, she decided to add a minor in Fish and Wildlife. She still wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do, but adding this minor would lead her to find her true passion in a balanced lab work/field work career.

West Virginia’s adventures would include an opportunity to study whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) and even a stint where she helped rehabilitate large birds known as raptors. But as things do, her adventures there ended, leaving her very well connected, educated, motivated, and ready to move on to her next adventure here at Virginia Tech.

Harris would begin her master's degree program at Virginia Tech and find herself literally and figuratively knee-deep in the study of Walleye and Striped Bass. Her overall project, while focusing mainly on the sustainability and viability of both populations, would also bring to light just how important these fish are to local economies. Harris states in her research that a 2011 survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) found that in a single year 33.1 million anglers spent 553.8 million days fishing in both freshwater and saltwater. Of 27.5 million freshwater anglers, 4.4 million of them spent 61 million days targeting Striped Bass and Striped Bass hybrids. These activities performed by freshwater anglers brought in $25.7 billion for the fishing industry in just one year (USFWS, 2011).

This photo shows a dark haired young woman wearing a t-shirt and a blue life preserver standing in a boat and holding a large (three feet long?) pale brown fish. A bridge and shoreline can be seen across the water behind her. — Sheila Harris conducting data collection on Lake Sturgeon at Lake Huron with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

While Striped Bass certainly have a more widely known and recognized name, Walleye are just as valuable. Having seen just how impactful Striped Bass can be on the local economy, it is easy to see how important they are.

“As the Walleye population recovers and native New River Walleye become more abundant, anglers have come to the New River from across the country, increasing [fishing] license sales,” Harris states. “There are many positive aspects to having a native stock in a riverine system, including high survival [rates] and [positive] maintenance of historical biodiversity. . .many native walleye populations need artificial augmentation. . .and such stocking can increase target population sizes and help them become self-sustaining.”

Looking at her research in an economic sense brings to light just how important her work is. By studying and improving the coveted species of fish that anglers are spending so much time and money to catch, it is easy to see how the state of Virginia can benefit as a whole, especially considering that in 2001 the total economic output was $735 million, and that money supported 6,824 jobs (VDGIF, 2017). Who knew a day on the lake could give back to the community in such a hugely impactful way? Harris sure did.

As she began her endeavor to study and help improve these populations, she would receive help from many sources, but the most impactful one would come directly from her advisor. Professor Eric M. Hallerman, in the Department of Fish and Wildlife, soon became a leading source of Harris's adventures in genetics. Hallerman has an extensive academic background, having studied everything from aquaculture, genetics in a general sense, and population management of cows in Israel!

This photo shows a long narrow boat with a man seated at the wheel and a young woman standing in the bow. Green water is in the foreground and a forested shoreline with a muddy bank is in the background. — Sheila Harris (right) and George Palmer of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries at Foster Falls collecting samples.

“Dr. Hallerman has taught me a lot about genetics and its role in conservation and why it is important,” Harris says. “He is the smartest person I know, and not just within the realm of genetics, but why we do what we do. He exposed me to a lot of interesting things, like working on his research on horseshoe crabs, as well as many others. He has pushed me to do things I never thought I was capable of and now that the work is almost over and the stress of it all almost relieved, I am so thankful for him and all he has done.”

Hallerman and Harris quickly became the Genetic Dynamic Duo in their lab building, Harris says. Her studies and efforts to not only identify and protect native game species but also to improve them, alongside Hallerman’s experience and expertise, have given the Virginia Tech fish and wildlife department and the College of Natural Resources and Environment a team who will not only continue to improve these species, but the study of genetics as a whole.

While Harris is coming close to finishing her degree, the road (or river, if you will) ahead of her is long and winding. It will present her with countless opportunities to improve not just Striped Bass and Walleye, but any other species that needs the help of a geneticist to recover, survive, and thrive.

(Photos courtesy of Sheila Harris.)