Abigail J. Lynch, Ph.D.
Abigail (Abby) J. Lynch is a Research Fish Biologist with the USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center. Abby conducts science and science syntheses on the impacts of global change to inland fishes at local, national, and global scales. Her work aims to inform conservation and sustainable use and to help fishers, managers, and other practitioners adapt to change.
Collaborative Networks
Abby leads the National CASC's aquatics program and co-leads the CASC Fish Research Team. She is adjunct/affiliate faculty at Michigan State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Florida, and the University of Missouri.
She serves as the coordinator for the international 'InFish' research network, a steward for the Fish and Climate Change Database (FiCli), and an Associate Editor for Fisheries Management and Ecology.
Abby received her Ph.D. in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University on climate impacts to Great Lakes Lake Whitefish, M.S. in marine science on Atlantic Menhaden population genetics at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, and B.S. in biology and B.A. in English literature from the University of Virginia. She also served as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Fisheries Program.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. in Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University
M.S. in Marine Science, College of William & Mary
B.S. in Biology, University of Virginia
B.A. in English, University of Virginia
Affiliations and Memberships*
IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group; IUCN Fisheries Expert Group
IPBES Global and Nexus Assessments (Fellow, Author)
2024 World Fisheries Congress International Program Committee (Co-chair)
UN International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (International Steering Committee)
FAO International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability (Advisory Board Member)
American Fisheries Society International Fisheries Section (Past-President)
Honors and Awards
Outstanding Young Alumni Award, Michigan State University College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Science and Products
A bright spot analysis of inland recreational fisheries in the face of climate change: Learning about adaptation from small successes
Stewardship and management of freshwater ecosystems: From Leopold's land ethic to a freshwater ethic
Culturally diverse expert teams have yet to bring comprehensive linguistic diversity to intergovernmental ecosystem assessments
Creel surveys for social-ecological systems focused fisheries management
Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of life-history variability for a south-western cutthroat trout
A global perspective on the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on freshwater fish biodiversity
Is there enough water? How bearish and bullish outlooks are linked to decision-maker perspectives on environmental flows
COVID-19 pandemic impacts on global inland fisheries
Lessons for leaders: The difference between good and great
Fishing for food: Quantifying recreational fisheries harvest in Wisconsin lakes
Effects of climate and land-use changes on fish catches across lakes at a global scale
Do empirical observations support commonly-held climate change range shift hypotheses? A systematic review protocol
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A bright spot analysis of inland recreational fisheries in the face of climate change: Learning about adaptation from small successes
Inland recreational fisheries have social, economic, and ecological importance worldwide but these fisheries are increasingly challenged by the diverse effects of climate change. Coupled with other anthropogenic stressors, climate change has contributed to declines in freshwater biodiversity of greater severity than those observed across marine or terrestrial taxa. At a macro level, inland fisheriAuthorsA. L. Jeanson, Abigail Lynch, J. D. Thiem, W. M. Potts, T. Haapasalo, A. J. Danylchuk, T. Douglas Beard, R. Arlinghaus, L. Hunt, N. Young, S. J. CookeStewardship and management of freshwater ecosystems: From Leopold's land ethic to a freshwater ethic
In 1949, Aldo Leopold formalized the concept of the ‘land ethic’, in what emerged as a foundational and transformational way of thinking about natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and stewardship in terrestrial systems. Yet, the land ethic has inherent linkages to aquatic ecosystems; Leopold himself conducted research on rivers and lakes, and freshwater ecosystems figured widelyAuthorsSteven J. Cooke, Abigail J. Lynch, John J. Piccolo, Julian D. Olden, Andrea J. Reid, Steve J. OrmerodCulturally diverse expert teams have yet to bring comprehensive linguistic diversity to intergovernmental ecosystem assessments
Multicultural representation is a stated goal of many global scientific assessment processes. These processes aim to mobilize a broader, more diverse knowledge base and increase legitimacy and inclusiveness of these assessment processes. Often, enhancing cultural diversity is encouraged through involvement of diverse expert teams and sources of knowledge in different languages. In this article, weAuthorsAbigail Lynch, Alvaro Fernandez-Llamazares, Ignacio Palomo, Pedro Jaureguiberry, Tatsuya Amano, Zeenatul Basher, Michelle Lim, Tuyeni H. Mwampamba, Aibek Samakov, Odirilwe SelomaneCreel surveys for social-ecological systems focused fisheries management
Recreational fisheries are social-ecological systems (SES), and knowledge of human dimensions coupled with ecology are critically needed to understand their system dynamics. Creel surveys, which typically occur in-person and on-site, serve as an important tool for informing fisheries management. Recreational fisheries creel data have the potential to inform large-scale understanding of social andAuthorsChelsey L. Nieman, Carolyn Iwicki, Abigail Lynch, Greg G. Sass, Christopher T. Solomon, Ashley Trudeau, Brett van PoortenIntrinsic and extrinsic drivers of life-history variability for a south-western cutthroat trout
The impacts of climate change on cold-water fishes will likely negatively manifest in populations at the trailing edge of their distributions. Rio Grande cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii virginalis, RGCT) occupy arid south-western U.S. streams at the southern-most edge of all cutthroat trout distributions, making RGCT particularly vulnerable to the anticipated warming and drying in this regioAuthorsBrock M. Huntsman, Colleen A. Caldwell, Abigail Lynch, Fitsum AbadiA global perspective on the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on freshwater fish biodiversity
The COVID-19 global pandemic and resulting effects on the economy and society (e.g., sheltering-in-place, alterations in transportation, changes in consumer behaviour, loss of employment) have yielded some benefits and risks to biodiversity. Here, we considered the ways the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced (or may influence) freshwater fish biodiversity (e.g., richness, abundance). In many cases,AuthorsSteve J. Cooke, William M. Twardek, Abigail Lynch, Ian G. Cowx, Julian D. Olden, Simon Funge-Smith, Kai Lorenzen, Robert Arlinghaus, Yushen Chen, Olaf L. F. Weyl, Elizabeth A. Nyboer, Paulo S. Pompeu, Stephanie M. Carlson, John D. Koehn, Adrian C. Pinder, Rajeev Raghavan, Sui C. Phang, Aaron A. Koning, William W. Taylor, Devin M. Bartley, J. Robert BrittonIs there enough water? How bearish and bullish outlooks are linked to decision-maker perspectives on environmental flows
Policies that mandate environmental flows (e-flows) can be powerful tools for freshwater conservation, but implementation of these policies faces many hurdles. To better understand these challenges, we explored two key questions: (1) What additional data are needed to implement e-flows? and (2) What are the major socio-political barriers to implementing e-flows? We surveyed water and natural resouAuthorsSean M. Wineland, Rachel Fovargue, Betsey York, Abigail Lynch, Craig Paukert, Thomas M. NeesonCOVID-19 pandemic impacts on global inland fisheries
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to environmental recovery in some ecosystems from a global “anthropause,” yet such evidence for natural resources with extraction or production value (e.g., fisheries) is limited. This brief report provides a data-driven global snapshot of expert-perceived impacts of COVID-19 on inland fisheries. We distributed an online survey assessing perceptions of inland fisheryAuthorsGretchen L. Stokes, Abigail Lynch, Benjamin S. Lowe, Simon Funge-Smith, John Valbo-Jorgensen, Samuel J. SmidtLessons for leaders: The difference between good and great
No abstract available.AuthorsT. Douglas Beard, Abigail LynchFishing for food: Quantifying recreational fisheries harvest in Wisconsin lakes
Recreational fisheries have high economic worth, valued at US$190 billion globally. An important, but underappreciated, secondary value of recreational catch is its role as a source of food. This contribution is poorly understood due to difficulty in estimating recreational harvest at spatial scales beyond a single system, as traditionally estimated from individual creel surveys. Here, we addressAuthorsHolly Embke, T. Douglas Beard, Abigail Lynch, Vander ZandenEffects of climate and land-use changes on fish catches across lakes at a global scale
Globally, our knowledge on lake fisheries is still limited despite their importance to food security and livelihoods. Here we show that fish catches can respond either positively or negatively to climate and land-use changes, by analyzing time-series data (1970–2014) for 31 lakes across five continents. We find that effects of a climate or land-use driver (e.g., air temperature) on lake environmenAuthorsY. Kao, Mark W. Rogers, David Bunnell, I. G. Cowx, S. S. Qian, O. Anneville, T. Douglas Beard, A. Brinker, J. R. Britton, R. Chura-Crusz, N. J. Gownaris, J. R. Jackson, K. Kangur, J. Kolding, A.A. Lukin, Abigail Lynch, N. Mercado-Silva, R. Moncayo-Estrada, F. J. Njaya, I. Ostrovsky, L.G. Rudstam, A. L. E. Sandström, Y. Sato, Humberto Siguayro-Mamani, A. Thorpe, P. A. M. van Zwieten, P. Volta, Y. Q. Wang, A. Weiperth, O. L. F. Weyl, Joelle D. YoungDo empirical observations support commonly-held climate change range shift hypotheses? A systematic review protocol
Background Among the most widely anticipated climate-related impacts to biodiversity are geographic range shifts, whereby species shift their spatial distribution in response to changing climate conditions. In particular, a series of commonly articulated hypotheses have emerged: species are expected to shift their distributions to higher latitudes, greater elevations, and deeper depths in responAuthorsMadeleine A. Rubenstein, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Shawn Carter, Mitchell Eaton, Ciara Johnson, Abigail Lynch, Brian W. Miller, Toni Lyn Morelli, Mari Angel Rodriguez, Adam Terando, Laura Thompson - Web Tools
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*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government