About

Our Story

The Fundulid Working Group is a new organization created in association with the Goodeid Working Group. We share the goal of connecting universities, zoos, aquariums, and other conservation organizations to the untapped resource of skill and knowledge in the aquarium hobby. FWG aims to unite these currently disparate entities in the pursuit of new paths of effective conservation for the family Fundulidae and beyond. Outside of a few select species, most fish in the family are underrepresented both in conservation and fishkeeping. We aim to make a change on both fronts, by pursuing study of Fundulid species in need, and by increasing access of fishkeepers to more secure species.

In parallel to our work with imperiled Fundulids and collaboration with partner organizations, we hope to crowdsource data and observations from experienced fishkeepers teasing out details from closely related surrogate species. This can allow us to test more variables in succession to quickly settle on reliable propagation protocols for potential future ex situ conservation efforts. With each propagation protocol constructed, vetted, and published, an additional species has an extra line of defense against extinction.

A secure future for these species is to be found together, with conservation through collaboration.

Have questions? Want to join the fight? Contact us.

Meet the Team

Jackson Booth

Academia Outreach Coordinator
Secretary
Lucania interioris Species Lead

Jackson Booth is one of the founders of the Fundulid Working Group and has worked for Conservation Fisheries since 2025. Jackson's career started like many others, focusing on sportfish (Walleye) in New York, but then he discovered the many overlooked non-game species while completing his Master's and found his calling. Despite growing up with copious amounts of rain, his current interests focus on desert fishes (and of course Fundulids and other killies). On the rare occasion he's not thinking about, photographing, or raising fish, Jackson is typically backpacking, camping, or hanging out with his very patient wife and cat.

Will Mutsch

Corporate Sponsor Coordinator
Treasurer
Permitting and Licensing Coordinator
Fundulus euryzonas Species Lead

Will Mutsch is one of the Founders of the Fundulid Working Group. His background is in the financial services industry but has a passion for fish and wildlife conservation. Currently he focuses on Risk assessment and insurance for agriculture operations including aquaculture but has also worked for aquarium supply dealers and at his Alma Mater the University of Georgia in their Entomology department. He currently serves on the board of the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association and has travelled around the United States and foreign countries for fish collecting and professional conferences. Like his counterparts, he is an avid aquarist who maintains a multitude of killifish species but also engages in sport fishing as well.

Gabe Oleinik

Hobby Outreach Coordinator
Web and Social Media Admin
Fundulus bifax Species Lead

Gabe is a founding chair of the Fundulid Working Group and manages the organization's online presence as well as forging connections in the aquarium hobby space. Being a long time hobbyist who arrived in the conservation space through non-traditional means himself, he sees the disconnect between traditional conservation and the hobby as a problem to be solved. He aims to help lead the charge on bridging the two in the interest of collaborative conservation. Gabe has a very wide experience and varied interests both in and outside of the fish world, and he's bringing a lot of that variety of knowledge and skill together to help protect Fundulids through many means.

Our Organization