Wilson Xiong

Nyob Zoo (Hello)! My Hmong name is Ntaj which means sword. In 2016, I graduated from North Carolina State University majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation Biology and minoring in Applied Ecology. I have done a variety of conservation work from ungulates species (elk & white-tail deer), small mammals, birds, sea turtles, salamanders, frogs, and a ton of fish work. During my career, I have worked with and alongside many agencies (USFWS, NOAA, USGS, Army Corps, BLM, BOR, state agencies, academia, and NGOs) and traveled to many places from beautiful Alpine environments, the piedmont region of the southeast, and tropical rainforest in the Caribbean. My focus is fish ecology and fisheries management and I have worked in all fields of fisheries ecology from the east coast to the west coast in streams, reservoirs, and coastal ecosystems. During my undergraduate, I worked for NC State Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program doing stream ecology all over NC and Puerto Rico. After graduation, I landed a job for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Red Bluff, California, monitoring juvenile Chinook Salmon and Green Sturgeon in the Sacramento River. Then later worked for the University of California, Davis as a research assistant in Fangue and Rypel Lab. I am a graduate student at the University of Tennessee Knoxville in Dr. Gus Engmans lab conducting research in Puerto Rico. My research focuses on determining the spatial extent of fish invasion on the island and testing the efficacy of an invasive species removal method.

Please email me if you have questions about your CV/resume, cover letters, graduate school, and working for federal or state agencies and NGOs.

Email: wxiong3@ncsu.edu

Professor lab page: https://sites.google.com/site/gusengman/home

DDCSP Mentorship Program- Mentee: Emma Riley

Awards:

• North Carolina Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Certificate of Appreciation 2021
• Award 2017, Southern Division American Fisheries Society Best Student Subunit Award, New Bern, NC
• Scholarship 2016-2017, Thomas L. Quay Wildlife and Natural Resources Experiential Learning Award, Raleigh, NC
• Scholarship 2016-2017, Charles S. and Edith K. Sullivan Endowed Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Raleigh, NC
• Scholarship 2016, North Carolina State University Student Fisheries Society Women's and Minority Travel Award Scholarship, Raleigh, NC
• Award 2015, Southern Division American Fisheries Society Best Student Subunit Award, Savannah, GA
• Vice President 2014-2015, North Carolina State University Student Fisheries Society, Raleigh, NC
• 2014, North Carolina State University Student Fisheries Society Undergraduate Travel Award Scholarship, Raleigh, NC
• 2014, North Carolina State University Student Fisheries Society Service Award, Raleigh, NC

Publication:

Ivasauskas, T.J., W.N. Xiong, A.C. Engman, J.R. Fischer, T.J. Kwak, and K.R. Rundle. 2017. Relationships among catch, angler satisfaction, and fish assemblage characteristics of an urban small impoundment fishery. Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 4: 31-38.

Presentations:

• Wilson N. Xiong, Rachelle L. Tallman, Paul Buttner, Jordan D. Colby, Dennis E. Cocherell, Carson A. Jeffres, Jacob V.E. Katz, Jacob Montgomery, Alexandra N. Wampler, Nann A. Fangue, Andrew L. Rypel. Inequality in growth and body size of juvenile Chinook salmon. American Fisheries Society, Virtual meeting. 2020.
• Wilson Xiong. Txhawb Nqa: National Hmong College-Student Panel. Guest speaker. Virtual meeting. 2020
• Wilson Xiong, Amanda Agosta, Breanna Xiong. Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation. UC Davis Southeast Furthering Education (SAFE) Asian Youth Conference 2020, Davis, CA. January 25.
• Wilson Xiong, Ally Xiong. Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation Workshop. Project HMONG at Sacramento State University Hmong Education and Career Day 2019, Sacramento, CA. November 2.
• Wilson Xiong. Conservation and Natural Resources. Hmong Student Union at UC Davis Hmong Youth Empowerment Conference 2019, Davis, CA.  January 20.
• Wilson Xiong, Anna E. Steel, Dennis Cocherell, Trinh Nguyen, Kara Carr, Nann. Fangue, Ali Ercan and M. Levent Kavvas. 2019. Comparing the Performance of a Fish Guidance System for the Protection of Two Sturgeon Species in California. American Fisheries Society & The Wildlife Society Joint Annual Conference, Reno, NV. September 29-October 3.
• Wilson Ntaj Xiong, Augustin C. Engman, Jesse R. Fischer, Michael Walter, Adriane O. Gill, Crystal S. Lee Pow, Harry V. Daniels, Jaime Collazo and Thomas J. Kwak. 2016. The Diet Composition of Caribbean Estuarine Predatory Fishes. 101st Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, ESA Exhibit Hall, Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center, FL. August 9.
• Wilson N. Xiong, Tomas J. Ivasaukas, Jesse R. Fischer, Thomas J. Kwak, James D. Wehbie, Spencer T. Gardner, and Kirk R. Rundle. 2016. Recreational Angler Catch, Effort, and Satisfaction in an Urban Setting. 27^th Annual Meeting of the NC & VA Chapters of the American Fisheries Society, Institute for Advanced Learning & Research, Danville, VA. March 15-17.
• Wilson Ntaj Xiong, Augustin C. Engman, Jesse R. Fischer, Michael Walter, Adriane O. Gill, Crystal S. Lee Pow, Harry V. Daniels, Jaime Collazo, Thomas J. Kwak. 2015. Diet Composition of Caribbean Estuarine Predatory Fishes of Puerto Rico. 2015. Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program Poster Symposium, David Clark Lab lobby, NC. November 10.