Molly Webb

Meet Molly Webb, spawning specialist!

Molly Webb has spent her career working to ensure a healthy future for fish and aquatic species. She has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for over seventeen years and is currently serving her second term as the Secretary General for the World Sturgeon Conservation Society. She is also a founding member and executive board member of the North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society. 

What's your official title? 

Research Physiologist

How would you describe your conservation work?

The work that I do is a small piece of the larger conservation effort. By understanding the reproductive dynamics of aquatic populations, resource managers can make informed decisions for successful management of species.

What does conservation mean to you?

Conservation to me means making choices every day that are respectful and protective of our world.

What led to your career choice?

I have always been interested in understanding how animals adapt to their environment and protecting creatures for their intrinsic value.  Growing up in California, I was drawn to the ocean and aquatic animals.  I wanted to be a marine biologist but realized in college while fishing for hagfish that I get outrageously seasick.  This led me to work on conservation of aquatic animals in lakes and rivers.

Do you have a top memorable moment on the job?

I got a call from my grandma one day telling me that she had played bridge with a group of her friends. Over tea and cards, she was told that her granddaughter (me) had been quoted in a Smithsonian Magazine article on Pallid Sturgeon. Her friend slowly and carefully read the article out loud to my grandma and her bridge group.  I had been assisting field crews with collection of Pallid Sturgeon broodstock broodstock
The reproductively mature adults in a population that breed (or spawn) and produce more individuals (offspring or progeny).

Learn more about broodstock from the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers.  I was assessing the sex and stage of maturity of a fish to determine if it could be taken to the hatchery to spawn.  The Smithsonian journalist was watching and asked me what I saw as I was looking through an otoscope that I had inserted into the abdomen of the fish through a small incision.  I responded, “I see nice, white testes.”  Upon hearing my quote, my grandma and her friends laughed and wondered at the success of a girl from a small California town.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?

I love working at the cellular level and/or tissue level to assist with questions at the population level.

Where did you go to school?

Ph.D. Ecology-Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis
M.S. Animal Science, University of California, Davis
B.A. Aquatic Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara