Fish, Streams, and Water Quality

Tires contain a chemical known as 6PPD which prevents them from quickly breaking down. Microscopic tire particles, generated mainly from the friction of tires on roads, release 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ) when they come into contact with oxygen. During precipitation events, 6PPDQ can be washed off roads, harming fish in nearby waterways. In response to requests from fishery managers, the USGS is studying...

This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the health of streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay. Monitoring data were used to assess seven key indicators of stream condition, revealing consistent patterns of degradation in urban and agricultural areas. The findings offer critical insights that can inform watershed restoration efforts and improve long-term monitoring strategies.

A new USGS study estimates potential losses of Chesapeake Bay salt marshes that could occur in the next 80 years if no marsh restoration is undertaken. Using a suite of models, USGS researchers identified how future potential marsh changes can be used to prioritize present-day site-specific planning and restoration needs.

The USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC) provides world-class science to inform natural resource decisions on aquatic ecosystems, species populations and management, disease, and invasive species. Our scientific products represent critical contributions that enhance the ecological and economic sustainability of recreational and commercial fishing. In the United States, anglers contribute...

The USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC) is rooted in a proud tradition of service to the nation—advancing science that informs the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, and habitats across the eastern United States and beyond. Our mission is clear: deliver reliable, partner-driven science that supports natural resource decisions today, while ensuring these resources remain...

New study suggests that smallmouth bass and channel catfish are changing what they eat to avoid having to compete with or being eaten by the invader

Fish diseases in freshwater ecosystems pose significant ecological and socioeconomic challenges; yet, monitoring them in wild populations is complex due to interactions between pathogens, hosts, and environmental conditions. External DELT (deformity, erosion, lesion, tumor, and parasite) data (fig. 1) provide a rapid and broad measure of fish health but are a relatively coarse indicator that...

The Chesapeake Bay provides over $100 billion in annual economic value and is home to 18 million people. The USGS, including scientists from the Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC), works with Federal, State, local, and academic partners to provide research and monitoring and to communicate results to inform management for the Chesapeake and other important landscapes across the Nation.

The reuse of municipal wastewater provides multiple benefits, including maintaining stream flow, recharging aquifers, and providing public water supply. However, along with the benefits are concerns related to the presence of ‘forever’ chemicals, like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater discharge. Managing PFAS in waterways is challenging because there are many potential PFAS...

Human activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed can negatively affect the abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate communities in freshwater streams, which is a core measure of stream health. For example, urban development and agricultural intensification can degrade habitat and water-quality conditions in streams through sedimentation, nutrient runoff, and changes to instream habitat. A...

USGS provides monitoring, analysis, modeling and research on streams and water quality to better understand the fate and transport of nutrients and sediment to the Susquehanna and other rivers, and their tributaries, and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay. Additional research focuses on emerging contaminants and other stressors that effect human and aquatic life in the watershed and estuary.

The USGS has computed nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and trends through water year 2023 in Chesapeake Bay rivers. These monitoring-based estimates help federal, state, and local managers evaluate and plan water-quality restoration strategies.