Fish and Aquatic Species

There are ongoing needs for analytical tools to investigate the cumulative effects of fluctuating water flow and depth. The Connectivity and Inundation Tool was developed at UMESC to help address these needs. The tool allows for the investigation of the historic hydrographs or proposed theoretical hydrographs. It does this by utilizing existing 2D hydrodynamic models that have been encapsulated...

Increases in summer stream temperature may exceed the thermal tolerances of aquatic biota that are adapted to colder environments. Information on thermal patterns can aid in the conservation of cold-water aquatic organisms such as Pacific salmon and help identify important habitat for restoration.

Amphibian populations world-wide are declining for reasons that include disease, habitat loss, and invasive species. Our research addresses these threats as part of the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI), a nationwide, federally funded program. We work with resource managers to provide information that improves understanding of status of amphibians and the implications of...

Amphibian populations have declined in many areas around the world. Initially, there was skepticism as to whether the observed declines were merely minor population fluctuations, but it has become increasingly clear that many declines are both real and sustained. At the request of the U.S. Department of the Interior, USGS Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) scientists are supporting the...

USGS WERC’s Dr. Karen Thorne, her team of reseachers, and her partners are currently taking a local site network approach to describe current and future conditions and projected responses of coastal ecosystems to sea-level rise and other stressors. The Coastal Ecosystem Response to Climate Change (CERCC) program’s goal is to understand how ecosystems vary in their ability to keep up with sea-level...

This project improves our understanding of the ecology of amphibians in northern California and evaluates methods of managing landscapes and these imperiled species. In particular, Dr. Brian Halstead examines the distribution and demography of amphibians to understand factors that affect where amphibians are found and how populations change. He further explores the relationships of amphibians with...

Pacific Coast fisheries information is currently available only from wildlife agencies in disparate databases. To maximize the value of these data, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement and U. S. Geological Survey have combined data from several of these sources into a single, comprehensive database. This gives resource managers a tool to easily extract species or...

Landscape ecology has only a short history as a recognized discipline, but it has transformed our thinking about the interplay between pattern and process. We now understand that many smaller-scale phenomena are driven by spatial processes, such as the proximity of different habitats to one another, the ability of organisms to move through landscapes, and the dynamics of natural disturbance such...

This website provides access to the list of imperiled freshwater and diadromous fishes of North America as determined by the 2008 American Fisheries Society (AFS) Endangered Species Committee (ESC) on Fishes.

The Herpetological Research Team focuses on issues related to conservation and management of amphibians and other aquatic and semi-aquatic species. Among our current studies are effects of invasive species, disease, and land use change on the dynamics of amphibian communities to inform conservation and management decision making.

Differentiating diploids from triploids at the earliest life stage possible allows for a more efficient use of resources including production time and rearing space. Thus, a reliable flow cytometric (FCM) method has been developed to discriminate triploids from diploids at the larval stage. In order to help simplify the process of differentiating triploids from diploids, we propose a simple...

Rivermouth ecosystems, or freshwater estuaries, are the focus of human and wildlife interactions with the Great Lakes. They are highly valued as the region’s urban, industrial, shipping and recreational centers; and home to recreational harbors, wildlife viewing and production, beaches and urban riverfronts. Rivermouths are also both the mixing zones where nutrients from upstream watersheds are...