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Alex Covert

I am a biologist at the Ohio office of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center. My background is in freshwater ecology but, has evolved to include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), species modeling, database work, and web site development.

I began my USGS career as an intern during my undergraduate studies in environmental sciences. For the first few summers, I helped the LERI NAWQA team collect fish, macroinvertebrates, and habitat data. My next undertaking was in managing the Ohio Aquatic Gap Analysis Project – a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based, pilot project that sought to provide regional assessments of the conservation status of native animal species and to facilitate the application of this information to land-management activities. 

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Water-quality sampling transect at Indian Fork below Atwood Dam.

Stream Quality In Tributaries Near Shale-Gas Drilling In Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District

The potential effect of drilling and hydraulic fracturing on freshwater resources is an issue that is in the news daily in Ohio and adjacent areas of the Appalachian Basin. This investigation will characterize the current (2015-16), baseline surface-water quality in the eastern part of the Muskingum River Watershed in Ohio where development of natural gas from the Utica Shale has begun and is...
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
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Stream Quality In Tributaries Near Shale-Gas Drilling In Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District

The potential effect of drilling and hydraulic fracturing on freshwater resources is an issue that is in the news daily in Ohio and adjacent areas of the Appalachian Basin. This investigation will characterize the current (2015-16), baseline surface-water quality in the eastern part of the Muskingum River Watershed in Ohio where development of natural gas from the Utica Shale has begun and is...
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Ohio Aquatic GAP results

Modeling Aquatic Species Distributions On The Basis Of Physical Habitat

Gap analysis is a coarse-scale assessment of aquatic biodiversity and conservation, the results of which can be used to guide biological field studies and monitoring programs. Potential species distribution models were developed for 130 fish, 70 bivalve, and 17 native crayfish species on the basis of a physical habitat-based classification of the perennial streams in Ohio.
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
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Modeling Aquatic Species Distributions On The Basis Of Physical Habitat

Gap analysis is a coarse-scale assessment of aquatic biodiversity and conservation, the results of which can be used to guide biological field studies and monitoring programs. Potential species distribution models were developed for 130 fish, 70 bivalve, and 17 native crayfish species on the basis of a physical habitat-based classification of the perennial streams in Ohio.
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FishVis, A regional decision support tool for identifying vulnerabilities of riverine habitat and fishes to climate change in the Great Lakes Region

Climate change is expected to alter the distributions and community composition of stream fishes in the Great Lakes region in the 21st century, in part as a result of altered hydrological systems (stream temperature, streamflow, and habitat). Resource managers need information and tools to understand where fish species and stream habitats are expected to change under future conditions. Fish sample
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Water Resources Mission Area, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Ohio Aquatic Gap Analysis-An Assessment of the Biodiversity and Conservation Status of Native Aquatic Animal Species

The goal of the GAP Analysis Program is to keep common species common by identifying those species and habitats that are not yet adequately represented in the existing matrix of conservation lands. The Gap Analysis Program (GAP) is sponsored by the Biological Resources Discipline of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Ohio Aquatic GAP (OH-GAP) is a pilot project that is applying the GAP concept
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Water Resources Mission Area, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Fish distribution and valley segment type data from Ohio Aquatic Gap Analysis Project (GAP)

Comparison of U.S. Geological Survey and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency fish-collection methods using the index of biotic integrity and modified index of well-being, 1996–97

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) collected data on fish from 10 stream sites in 1996 and 3 stream sites in 1997 as part of a comparative study of fish community assessment methods. The sites sampled represent a wide range of basin sizes (ranging from 132–6,330 square kilometers) and surrounding land-use types (urban, agricultural, and mixed). Each a
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Water Resources Mission Area, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Water Quality in the Mahoning River and Selected Tributaries in Youngstown, Ohio

The lower reaches of the Mahoning River in Youngstown, Ohio, have been characterized by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) as historically having poor water quality. Most wastewater-treatment plants (WWTPs) in the watershed did not provide secondary sewage treatment until the late 1980s. By the late 1990s, the Mahoning River still received sewer-overflow discharges from 101 locations

What is the Ohio Gap Analysis Program (GAP)?

The Gap Analysis Program (GAP) is a program for identifying the degree to which native species and natural communities are represented in present-day conservation lands. Those areas where unique biological communities and conservation lands do not overlap constitute gaps in our conservation effort.GAP aids in the protection of biodiversity through a regional assessment of the conservation status o
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New Study Identifies Pesticide Mixtures in U.S. Rivers and Streams

A mix of multiple pesticides is common in many U.S. streams, reports a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Program.

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