Engineering aquatic systems for conservation, culture and environmental resilience.
At UC Davis, I direct the Fish Conservation & Culture Laboratory, a university-operated conservation hatchery and research facility. My research integrates aquacultural engineering, aquatic biology and artificial intelligence. I develop technologies for conservation aquaculture, reproductive management, water treatment and non-invasive animal monitoring, working with universities, agencies and industry to move research into practice.
The work follows aquatic organisms across their life cycles and connects controlled experiments, hatchery operations and engineered systems. Each research direction below pairs its scientific questions with representative first- or corresponding-author publications.
My group studies how environmental and biological drivers shape behavior, growth, reproduction, recruitment and ecosystem feedback. Fishes—including delta smelt, longfin smelt and wakasagi—are central systems, alongside aquatic invertebrates and primary producers that broaden the engineering and ecological questions we can address.
Building and operating conservation hatcheries for delta smelt and longfin smelt requires more than captive propagation. The research addresses refuge populations, reintroduction and supplementation science, and the effects of captivity across generations—including domestication, epigenetics and captive ancestry.
This work is grounded in long-term hatchery operations and in experiments that connect individual performance with population-level conservation decisions.
Developing and refining captive culture methods for longfin smelt to support research and potential supplementation. The program links husbandry, life-cycle completion and conservation planning.
Selected across the career from papers led by Tien-Chieh Hung or published with him as corresponding author.
From spawning behavior to sperm cryopreservation, this direction develops the reproductive science behind successful captive breeding. The work examines how smelt spawn, how gametes perform under different salinities and collection conditions, hybridization between delta smelt and non-native wakasagi, and how genetic material can be banked for endangered species.
Investigating whether hybridization with non-native wakasagi poses a risk to the delta smelt population. The project connects reproductive behavior with conservation genetics and population management.
Developing repeatable protocols for collection, evaluation, freezing and recovery of delta smelt sperm. Genetic banking provides an additional safeguard for the species and supports long-term hatchery management.
Selected across the career from papers led by Tien-Chieh Hung or published with him as corresponding author.
This research engineers the systems aquatic animals live in and the tools used to understand them: bio-inspired particle separation, recirculating aquaculture systems, nutrient removal with macrophytes and microalgae, and interpretable foundation-model methods for animal monitoring.
The program links physical system design with biological performance, from patented fluidic devices to non-invasive fish sex identification.
Building an integrated detection and response framework for an invasive species that threatens hatchery and water-intake infrastructure. The project translates biological observations into operational protocols for managed water systems.
Selected across the career from papers led by Tien-Chieh Hung or published with him as corresponding author.
Patents: Piedrahita RH, Hung TC, Crossflow filtration particle separator, US 9,827,518 B2; Hung TC et al., Curvilinear fluidic device, U.S. Patent Application 63/505,500 (filed 2023).
This direction examines how physical and chemical environments shape aquatic life—from temperature, salinity, turbidity and light to contaminants, pesticides and water-quality stressors. It measures preferences, tolerances, feeding, early-life performance and reproductive responses to inform conservation, culture and environmental management.
The work extends beyond delta smelt and longfin smelt through extensive collaborations in ecotoxicology, investigating effects on fishes, aquatic invertebrates and the food webs that support them.
Selected across the career from papers led by Tien-Chieh Hung or published with him as corresponding author.
Tien-Chieh Hung has directed the Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory at UC Davis since 2015, after serving as Assistant Director in 2014–2015. The university-operated conservation hatchery integrates daily animal care with recirculating aquaculture systems, water-quality management and engineering solutions for fish and other aquatic animals.
FCCL supports research and recovery work for endangered smelt species, including delta smelt and longfin smelt. Its role spans refuge-population maintenance, life-cycle culture development, reproductive studies and experiments that test how captive history influences later performance.
Courses connect biological requirements with mass balances, oxygen demand, ammonia production, water flow, treatment capacity and recirculating-system design. Tien-Chieh Hung also serves as a major advisor to Ph.D. and M.S. students in Biological Systems Engineering.
Editorial, professional-society and public-education service extend the research program beyond the laboratory.
Get in touch by email or through the UC Davis faculty directory. The complete publication record is available on Google Scholar.