Vern Parish Fund

The Vern Parish Fund was established in memory of Vern Parish, one of ALA's early stalwart members and a great friend and benefactor to many aquarists during his lifetime.

The VPF Committee is a permanent committee of ALA whose purpose is to seek voluntary, tax deductible donations to the VPF, invest the donations and once per year to solicit and select one or more grant recipients whose research and future potential contributions will add to the knowledge about and/or assist in the conservation of livebearing fishes. Such applicants can be agencies or college-student researchers working with livebearing fishes. The grantee will receive a cash grant toward their research expenses. In 2019, an award of $2,000 will be given.

The Vern Parish Award not only helps to subsidize and to encourage conservation and student research of livebearing fishes but also gives status and visibility to the American Livebearer Association as a legitimate member of and contributor to the hobby and ichthyological communities.

Applications are being accepted for the award. The award recipient will be announced at the ALA Annual Convention. Application information is included below.

Vern Parish Vern (1917-1996) was born and raised in the Indianapolis, Indiana area. Vern spent his lifetime in the care, propagation, education, maintenance and preservation of aquarium fish. He held an extra special interest in livebearing fish. As his wife Jean commented at their Golden Wedding Anniversary, Vern had fish when they first met and when they married "the fish came along with the man".

He retired after 39 years of employment at Allison aircraft engines, and he and Jean also ran a commercial fish store for a brief period of time. Vern and Jean have three sons, eight grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.

Vern's interests included all fish, but he specialized in the livebearers. He was very active and very well known in the aquarium hobby both at the local and national level. Vern earned several awards from the Indianapolis Aquarium Society including special recognition with a well deserved Lifetime Achievement Award. He was very strong believer in Species Maintenance and was the main force behind the inception of the SMP for the American Livebearer Association, and he ran this program for several years. Vern was inducted as a Fellow of the ALA in 1987.

Besides fish, Vern's other interests included nature, plants, and gardening. He spent a significant amount of time as a volunteer at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Indianapolis.

Vern is remembered as a kind, gentle, generous man who always had time to talk about nature with everyone regardless of their level of experience or knowledge. According to Jean, Vern's most exciting times were his three trips to South America, where he enjoyed all fish, animals, and plants. He truly loved all God's earth and studied all he could about it.

It was always a special treat to visit Vern and Jean. Their beautifully landscaped yard was always in top condition, a break for lunch was common, and Vern usually had at least one free bag of fish from his unique fish house and/or something from his greenhouse for you to take home.

Pat Hartman
Published: 2006-05-25

The American Livebearer Association has established an endowment fund known simply as the Vern Parish Fund to support education in the field of livebearing fish. The ALA is actively soliciting and accepting donations to this fund. This fund will be maintained independent from the ALA general treasury. The ALA draws on the interest of this fund and provides cash grants to graduate level research students actively engaged in the study of livebearing fish. The amount and the recipient of these stipends will be determined by the Board of Directors of the ALA. Since 2008 the minimum award has been $1,000.

As of January 1, 2008, the American Livebearer Association, Inc. has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a charitable nonprofit entity with 501(c )(3) status. Contributions to the ALA are deductible under section 170 of the Code. This means that any contribution to the ALA is deductible on your Form 1040 Schedule A. The ALA is also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers, or gifts under Section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Code.

All contributions to the ALA will be used by the Vern Parish Fund for scholarships and grants for ichthyological research to further the knowledge of livebearing fishes. All donors will receive a receipt as proof of their contribution for income tax purposes.

If you would like to make a contribution, you can donate via PayPal by making a payment at our "Donate to the ALA" at https://livebearers.org/content/donate-ala .  Just choose the amount you'd like to donate and note that the donation is for the Langhammer Fund for Conservation. A receipt for income tax purposes will be sent to you.

You can also send a check or money order to:

American Livebearer Association, Inc.
c/o Angie LaVoy, Treasurer
11029 Portage Rd. Apt 1
Portage, MI   49002
 

Remember, all contributions to the ALA are deductible on your Schedule A as a contribution just like any other contributions you may make to your church, the Salvation Army, etc.

Thanking you in advance,
ALA Vern Parish Fund

The American Livebearer Association is pleased to invite proposals to the Vern Parish Fund (VPF). 

VPF is open to students enrolled in M.S. and Ph.D. programs anywhere in the world. It recognizes outstanding graduate student research on any aspect of the biology of livebearing fishes.

Applications to VPF and LFC must be written in English and should include:

1. A title page with project title and contact information
2. A research/project statement, including a summary of past achievements and a proposal for upcoming goals (not to exceed three pages)
3. A short budget with justification
4. The applicant’s curriculum vitae (academic applicants) or relevant resume

Items 1 through 4 should be submitted as a single PDF file through the following website: https://forms.gle/cVM5ezpX1H19r9nT9

Student applications also require a letter of nomination from the direct faculty advisor. Letters of nomination will be solicited directly from the advisor by ALA upon submission of the proposal. The deadline for applications for the 2025 ALA awards is March 31.

The award ($1,000 USD minimum) will be announced at the Saturday banquet dinner at the annual ALA Convention . For questions, please contact Michi Tobler (tobler at ksu.edu).

The VPF Committee consists of two co-chairs and a panel of academic advisers. The advisory panel members are ichthyologists with strong involvement in research with livebearing fishes and include some previous ALA award recipients. Each VPF or LFC application will be reviewed by two members of this advisory panel. Their recommendations will be presented to the ALA Board of Directors who will make the final decisions.

The advisory panel will consider the following criteria when evaluating the applications for scientific merit:

1. Significance. Does this project address an important problem? If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge or conservation practice be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?
2. Approach. Does the applicant include a reasonable research statement? Is the project feasible in the timeframe? Is the budget appropriate?
3. Background. Does the applicant have experience in this area? Did the applicant already make progress in this area?
4. Environment/Sponsor. For research projects, does the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are expertise and environment suitable for fish husbandry plans? Are stakeholder relationships and institutional approvals in place for successful execution of the projects? Do the proposed studies benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, or access to unique study populations, or employ useful collaborative arrangements? For students, does the sponsor have the expertise to train the student and help the student complete the project? 

The student’s research statement and the letter of nomination from the faculty sponsor should address these areas.

Please NOTE! Only one VPF Award application will be accepted per sponsor. When multiple students from the same sponsor wish to apply, we suggest each student prepare an application. The sponsor can then select the best application and forward it to the VPF. This change was necessary since in recent years, multiple applications have been received from students with the same sponsor. While we appreciate and encourage the interest, it is overwhelming our reviewer pool.

We're looking forward to receiving your applications!

Best wishes, Michi Tobler, Pat Hartman, Gil Rosenthal, and Rich Serva (for the ALA Board of Directors)

1997

Shane A. Webb - University of Michigan (Dr. Gerald R. Smith) ALA Convention Presentation: "Systematics and Evolution of Goodeid fishes"
Thesis: Phylogenetic Analysis of the Goodeidae

1998

Ryan Earley - University of Louisville (Dr. Lee A. Dugatkin)
Thesis: The Effects of Group Fusion on the Dynamics of Hierarchy Formation in Xiphophorus helleri

1999

Gil Rosenthal - University of Texas at Austin (Dr. Clark Hubbs)
ALA Convention Presentation: The behavioral ecology of visual signaling in the Rio Panuco basin swordtails.
Thesis: Intra- and Interspecific Sexual Trait Variation in Xiphophorus of the Rio Panuco Basin

2000 

Jens Seckinger - University of Konstanz, Germany (Dr. Axel Meyer)
Thesis: Phylogeny of the Family Poeciliidae and the Evolution of Life History Traits

2001

Hobbyists Aqua Lab Conservation Project at the University of Morelia, Mexico Fish Ark Ivan Dibble

2002

Ronit Lavie - California State University - Northridge (Dr. Cheryl C. Hogue)
Thesis: Parasite-mediated Sexual Selection and the Effects of Turbidity on Xiphophorus helleri

2003

Pablo Weaver – University of Colorado (Dr. Alexander Cruz)
Thesis: Inferring Colonization and Speciation Through a Phylogenetic Analysis of Hispaniolan Poecilia Species

2004

Melissa Noontz - University of Nebraska - Lincoln (Dr. Alexandra Basolo)
Thesis: Impacts of Predation on Montezuma Swordtail Reproductive Behavior

2005

Meribeth Huizinga, Colorado State University (Dr. Cameron Ghalambor)
Thesis: A test of intraspecific competition using a trophic polymorphous fish species, Ilyodon furcidens

Christiane I. Meyer, Princeton University (Dr. Daniel Rubenstein)
Thesis: Evolutionary maintenance of variation in body size in Xiphophorus helleri

2006

Michael Tobler, University of Oklahoma (Dr. Ingo Schlupp)
Thesis: Darkness and Hydrogen Sulfide: Adaptations of Extremeophile Poeciliids form Southern Mexico - a study of the "blind cave" form of Poecilia mexicana.

2007

Pamela Willis University of Texas at Austin (Dr. Michael J. Ryan)
Thesis: Condition-dependent Hybridization in Swordtail and Platy Fishes ($1,000.00)

Additionally the ALA Board of Directors and Vern Parish Fund Committee decided to present a Conservation Grant in the amount of $500 USD to Omar Dominguez Dominguez in recognition of his work with the Mexican Goodeids.

2008

Dr. Gil Rosenthal Texas A & M, Field Support for Mexican University Students at the CICHAZ Research station in Calnali, Hidalgo, Mexico. ($1,000.00)

Dr. Arcadio Valdes Gonzalez, Nuevo Leon State University, MEXICO (Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León) Renovation of Livebearer Breeding Facility ($500.00)

2009

Laura Alberici da Barbiano, University of Texas, San Marcos, Department of Biology (Dr. Caitlin Gabor)
Thesis: Phylogeography and behavioral ecology of a gynogenetic species.($1,000.00)

2010

Rachel Martin, Sam Houston State University, Department of Biology (Dr. Raelynn Deaton) ($1,000.00)

2011

Sunny K. Scobell, Texas A&M Universtiy, The Effect of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill on Pipefish and Seahorse Populations.($1,500.00)

2012

Courtney Passow, Oklahoma State University, Elucidating the Genomic Basis of Toxicant Tolerance in Poecilia mexicana.($1,500.00)

2013

Molly Schumer, Prnceton University, An investigation of hybrid speciation in the swordtail fish Xiphophorus nezahualcoyoyotl. ($2,000.00)

2014

Danielle Alba, Oklahoma State University, Uncovering the effects of food stoichiometry on growth, conditions, and evolution in Poecilia mexicana. ($1,500.00)

2015

Andrea Roth-Monzon, Brigham Young University, Character Displacement in Four Livebearing Species of the Genus Poeciliopsis. ($1,500.00)

2016

Ryan Greenway, Kansas State University, Mechanisms of Reproduction Isolation Driving Ecological Speciation between Three Independent Population Pairs Along the Same Environmental Gradient.($1,000.00)

2017

Daniel L. Powell, Texas A&M University, The Genetic Architecture of Species Specific Olfactory Signals in Two Northern Swordtail Fish.($1,000.00)

2018

Samantha Levell, Dept. of Evolution, Ecology and Orgnanismal Biology, University of California – Riverside, Intergenomic Conflict: Understanding Maternal Investment & Reproductive Isolation in Poeciliids. ($1,000.00)

2019

Alexandra G. Duffy, Brigham Young University, Investigating sensory adaptations across divergent selective environments in Brachyrhaphis. ($2,000.00)

2020

Kerry McGowan, Washington State University, Gene expression in sulfur poecilids ($2,000.00)

2021   

Matthew Jenkins, North Carolina State University, (Dr. Brian Langerhans),

Thesis: “Light up the darkness: artificial light at night and diel behavioral patterns in a livebearing fish”

Matthew Schumm, Florida State University, (Dr. Daniel K. Okamoto)

Project: “Eco-evolutionary trajectories under harvesting pressures and resource variability in an experimental system” (Heterandria formosa)

2022   

Rachael Kramp, University of Pittsburgh, (Dr. Jessica Stephenson)

Project: Unraveling the role of the microbiome in parasite infection of the Live bearing guppy, Poecilia reticulata”

Michi’s Version [from Dr. Jessica Stephenson’s lab at the University of Pittsburgh. Rachael is investigating the role of the microbiome (i.e., the microorganisms that naturally inhabit the intestine and skin of the fish) in determining guppies' susceptibility to parasites.]

Sunishka Thakur, University of Texas at Austin, (Dr. Molly Cummings)

Project: “Understanding Coping Styles in a Fish with Alternative Reproductive Tactics.”

Michi’s Version [from Dr. Molly Cummings’ lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Sunishka is investigating how swordtails with different mating strategies also exhibit differences in how they deal with stress by analyzing their behavior, physiology, and neurobiology.]

2023    $1500 each to:

Kara Ryan, Washington State University, (Dr. Joanna Kelly)

Project: “Identifying the Source of Adaptive Variation in the Repeated Evolution of Extreme Environments”

Igor Cavalcanti, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Dr. Paulo Andreas Buckup & Dr. Eugenia Zandona)

Project: “Conservation of Cryptic Species Eliminating Sample Gaps to Describe Hidden Species in the Genus Phalloceros”

2024   

VPF $2,000 to:

Natalia Tepox Vivar, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico. (Dr. Palestina Guevara-Fiore)

Project: “Effects of parasitism on reproductive strategies: a comparative approach between matrotrophic and lecithotrophic Poeciliid females”

2025

$1500 ($1000 VPF $500 LCF) to:

Sanaa Qahera Khan, University of California - Davis (Dr Kate Laskowski)

Project: “A Signal Detection Approach to understanding the role of female social environment in determining male mate choice in Poeciliid fish”

$1500 ($1000 VPF $500 LCF) to:

 Marissa Cartee, University of California - Riverside (Dr David Reznik)

 Project: “Selectivity of Sperm Storage within Poeciliidae”

 $1500 ($1000 VPF $500 LCF) to

 Eric S Johnson, University of Missouri - St Louis (Dr Michi Tobler)

 Project: “Why has Handedness Evolved? A remarkable Link between gonopodium asymmetry and behavioral laterality in livebearing fish”

2026

$1000 to:

Kyndal B. Irwin, Texas State University (Dr. Caitlin R. Gabor)

Project: “Environmental Drivers of Cognition and Neuron Density in Livebearing Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)”

$1000 to:

Shinji Yamamoto, University of California, Santa Cruz (Dr. Giacomo Bernardi)

Project: “Genomic perspectives on diversification and phylogeography in Western North Pacific surfperches (Embiotocidae)”

$1000 to:

Parker Hughes, North Carolina State University (Dr. Brian Langerhans)   

Project: “Evolution of Visual Diversity in an Adaptive Radiation of Livebearing Fish”