Barry Baldigo has been a Research Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey since 1990. He leads numerous collaborative studies that aim to improve our understanding of the health of aquatic ecosystems, impacts of environmental contaminants and hydrologic modification, important interrelations, and management options that help mitigate ecological disturbance and sustain valuable natural resources.
Education:
Utica College of Syracuse University B.S. Biology, 1978
SUNY, College of Environmental Sciences & Forestry M.S. Fisheries Biology, 1982
Professional Membership:
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
American Fisheries Society
New York State Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
Society for Freshwater Science (formerly North American Benthological Society)
Professional Experience:
Research Biologist (RGE); U.S. Geological Survey, Troy, NY; 1990-present: Principal investigator for cooperative water programs (with NGOs, and county, regional, and state agencies) evaluating interrelations among restoration, channel stability, habitat, and fish communities; tissue contaminants and toxicity of water and sediments in Areas of Concern across the Great Lakes; basin features, impoundments, and American eel sub-populations; municipal and industrial waste waters, estrogenicity, endocrine disruption, and fish biomarkers; regional bankfull hydraulic-geometry models and drainage areas; acid deposition, fish assemblages, trout survival, and biological response models; and flow-modification, temperatures, turbidity, and fish assemblages in Adirondack and Catskill Mountain rivers.
Senior Biologist; Adirondack Lakes Survey Corp, Raybrook, NY; 1988-1990: Field coordinator for the EPA’s Episodic Response Project assessing effects of episodic acidification on water quality, fish survival, and biologic communities in streams of the southwestern Adirondack Mountains, New York.
Senior Scientist; Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Co., Las Vegas, NV; 1984-1988: Lead investigator for several EPA technical-support projects in the Northwest and regional coordinator and instructor for EPA’s NSWS Eastern and Western Lakes-, Eastern Stream-, and Michigan Lakes Biology and Acidification Surveys.
Research Biologist; University of Nevada, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Las Vegas, NV; 1980-1984: Invertebrate taxonomist and technician; helped develop and assess new field guidelines for modifying EPA’s national site-specific water quality criteria (NPDES permitting program) and stream biological assessments.
Science and Products
Documenting Biological Recovery in Acidified Adirondack Streams in Response to the 1990 Amendment to the Clean Air Act
Areas of Concern: New York Statewide Fish Collection - Contaminants in fish from the Buffalo River AOC
Areas of Concern: Niagara River
Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern Fish Community Assessment
Status of American Eel populations in the Mohawk River Basin
Track down survey of PCBs in three tributaries to the Niagara River Area of Concern (AOC)
Contaminants in fish tissues from AOCs in New York State: The Niagara River AOC
Niagara River AOC-wide Benthos BUI Assessment
Quantitative Fish Surveys of Mohawk River Tributaries
Long-term trends in Rainbow Trout growth and naturalized populations in the Ashokan Basin
Monitoring the Status and Expansion of Round Goby Populations in the Mohawk River/Barge Canal System
Contaminants in fish tissues from AOCs in New York State: The Buffalo River AOC 2-year post remediation
Macroinvertebrate community and sediment toxicity data from the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern, New York, 2021
Environmental DNA data for Round Goby from the Champlain Canal (ver. 4.0, November 2022)
Organic and Metal Contaminants in Fish Tissue Collected from the Niagara River Area of Concern, New York, 2018
Adirondack and Catskill stream-fish survey dataset (ver. 5.0, August 2022)
Environmental DNA and electrofishing data for American eel in the Mohawk and Hudson River Watersheds (ver. 2.0, January 2023)
Macroinvertebrate community and sediment toxicity data from the Niagara River Area of Concern, New York
Data for Assessing the Status of Macroinvertebrate Communities and Sediment Toxicity in the Buffalo River Area of Concern, New York
Data from historic and contemporary fish community surveys in streams of the Adirondack Region
Fish community and substrate data from tributaries to the Mohawk River
Environmental DNA (eDNA) and fish capture data from Round Goby screening surveys on the Eastern Erie Canal, New York
Organic and metal contaminants in fish tissue collected from the Buffalo River Area of Concern, 2017
Brook trout toxicity data from bioassays conducted in Western Adirondack Streams, 2001-03 and 2015-17
Survey of fish communities in tributaries to the Mohawk River, New York, 2019
Condition of macroinvertebrate communities in the Buffalo River Area of Concern following sediment remediation
The Biscuit Brook and Neversink Reservoir Watersheds: Long-term investigations of stream chemistry, soil chemistry, and aquatic ecology in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA, 1983 to 2020
Survey of fish assemblages in the upper Neversink River and upper Rondout Creek, New York, 2017–19
Regional target loads of atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur deposition for the protection of stream and watershed soil resources of the Adirondack Mountains, USA
Considerations of variability and power for long-term monitoring of stream fish assemblages
Eastward expansion of Round Goby in New York: Assessment of detection methods and current range
Biological and chemical recovery of acidified Catskill Mountain streams in response to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
The response of streams to changes in atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen in the Adirondack Mountains
Quantifying and addressing the prevalence and bias of study designs in the environmental and social sciences
Decreases in aluminum toxicity and mortality of caged brook trout in Adirondack Mountain Streams
Condition of resident fish communities in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern, New York
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Science
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Documenting Biological Recovery in Acidified Adirondack Streams in Response to the 1990 Amendment to the Clean Air Act
BACKGROUND Chemistry data from a group of Adirondack lakes monitored since the mid-1990s indicate that chemical recovery is currently underway and can be attributed to declining deposition loads of sulfate and nitrate in direct response to the 1990 amendment to the Clean Air Act (CAA) and other regulations. Changes in the water quality of several western Adirondack streams suggest that chemical reAreas of Concern: New York Statewide Fish Collection - Contaminants in fish from the Buffalo River AOC
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Department of Health (NYSDOH), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled fish from the Buffalo River AOC during summer 2017 to help determine if current fish-consumption advisories are appropriate and if residue data support or do not support removal of the “Restrictions on Fish and Wildlife Consumption” beneficial use...Areas of Concern: Niagara River
USGS scientists participated in several projects supporting work in the Niagara River Area of Concern including: 1) Evaluating toxicity in Benthos Sediment, 2) Tracking PCB Sources in the AOC, and Identifying Source Areas Contributing to Contaminants Found in Fish Tissue.Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern Fish Community Assessment
Background: Eighteenmile Creek was designated as an Area of Concern (AOC) in 1985 because water quality and bed sediments were contaminated by past industrial and municipal discharges, waste disposal, and pesticide usage. Five Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) were identified in the Eighteenmile Creek AOC, including BUI #3 - the degradation of fish and wildlife populations. The remedial action comStatus of American Eel populations in the Mohawk River Basin
Background: The waters of the Mohawk River basin are inhabited by one of the richest fish communities on the East Coast. The American Eel, Anguilla rostrata, is a unique member of this community, exhibiting a catadramous (maturing in fresh water and spawning in salt water) life history. Like many migratory fish, the American Eel has suffered a general decline across the East Coast largely attribTrack down survey of PCBs in three tributaries to the Niagara River Area of Concern (AOC)
Background Industrial discharges of toxic and bio-accumulating compounds to the Niagara River and its tributaries have occurred over many decades. High concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in samples of fish tissue from many locations, including three tributaries to the Niagara River: Tonawanda Creek, Two mile Creek, and Rattlesnake Creek (study reaches listed in TablContaminants in fish tissues from AOCs in New York State: The Niagara River AOC
DEC collaborators collect fish from a Niagara River tributary using an electrofishing boat The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Department of Health (NYSDOH), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are gathering data on chemical contaminants in fish from multiple Areas of Concern (AOCs) in New York State and plan to use this information to evaluate fish cons...Niagara River AOC-wide Benthos BUI Assessment
A USGS biologist prepares to collect a sediment sample using a petit ponar dredge. Background:The Niagara River forms the boundary between the United States and Canada and was designated as a binational Area of Concern (AOC) in 1987 because past industrial discharges and hazardous waste sites had caused extensive degradation of aquatic habitats. Within the United States (eastern) portion of the AOQuantitative Fish Surveys of Mohawk River Tributaries
Background Fish communities of the mainstem Mohawk River and Barge Canal have been well-documented (Carlson, 2015; George et al., 2016) but comparatively less information is available regarding the current status of fish communities in tributaries to the Mohawk River. This information gap is problematic because long-term shifts in species distributions or abundances due to climate change, eutrophiLong-term trends in Rainbow Trout growth and naturalized populations in the Ashokan Basin
Background: Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) have thrived in the Esopus Creek since their introduction in the 1880s. The construction of the Ashokan Reservoir in 1915 changed the fishery by providing a stable lentic environment where adult trout could grow large and find refuge during periods when stream conditions become stressful. Although many adult Rainbow Trout spend time in the reservoirMonitoring the Status and Expansion of Round Goby Populations in the Mohawk River/Barge Canal System
Background: The waters of the Mohawk River and its tributaries are inhabited by some of the most diverse fish communities in the Northeast. The construction of the Erie Canal in 1825, and later the Barge Canal in 1918, enabled the westward expansion of fishes from the Hudson River drainage as well as the eastward expansion of fishes indigenous to the Great Lakes drainage. Today, almost half of theContaminants in fish tissues from AOCs in New York State: The Buffalo River AOC 2-year post remediation
Background The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Department of Health (NYSDOH), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) plan to obtain data on chemical contaminants in fish from multiple Areas of Concern (AOCs) in New York State and use this information to evaluate fish consumption advisories, which are a critical component of most removal criteria for “Restricti - Data
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Macroinvertebrate community and sediment toxicity data from the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern, New York, 2021
A data release containing information on benthic macroinvertebrate communities and sediment toxicity in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern and a nearby reference area at Oak Orchard Creek. Bed sediments were collected during summer 2021 at 8 sites on Eighteenmile Creek and at 6 sites on Oak Orchard Creek using a petite Ponar dredge for macroinvertebrate identification and sediment toxicity tesEnvironmental DNA data for Round Goby from the Champlain Canal (ver. 4.0, November 2022)
The dataset is composed of two tables containing environmental DNA (eDNA) data and site location information from round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) surveys conducted on parts of the Champlain Canal and upper Hudson River in New York during 2022. First posted May 5, 2022, ver. 1.0 Revised June 2022, ver. 2.0 Revised August 2022, ver. 3.0Organic and Metal Contaminants in Fish Tissue Collected from the Niagara River Area of Concern, New York, 2018
Fish tissue from 203 samples collected at five locations in the Niagara River Area of Concern in 2018 were analyzed for a wide range of analytes including Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides (E1 and E2), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), organochlorine and other persistent organic compounds, metals, lipid and moisture. Over 230 analytes were analyzed in the tissue samples, includingAdirondack and Catskill stream-fish survey dataset (ver. 5.0, August 2022)
The dataset is composed of two data tables containing information from electrofishing surveys conducted in the Catskill and Adirondack regions. The first data table contains fish collection information and the second data table contains information on the sampled reaches. First posted September 25, 2018, ver. 1.0 Revised July 2019, ver. 2.0 Revised November 2020, ver. 3.0 Revised March 2022, ver.Environmental DNA and electrofishing data for American eel in the Mohawk and Hudson River Watersheds (ver. 2.0, January 2023)
The dataset is composed of five tables containing environmental DNA (eDNA) and electrofishing data from American eel (Anguilla rostrata) surveys conducted on parts of the Mohawk River watershed and tributaries to the Hudson River in New York. The dataset includes (a) eDNA data from 36 sites in the Mohawk River watershed and adjacent areas including parts of the Eastern Erie Canal, Mohawk River, anMacroinvertebrate community and sediment toxicity data from the Niagara River Area of Concern, New York
A data release containing information on macroinvertebrate communities and sediment toxicity in the Niagara River and associated areas collected during 2019 and 2020. Sediment toxicity tests were conducted at 60 sites in the Niagara River, 5 sites on Smoke Creek, and 6 sites on Hoyt Lake using two test species, Chironomus dilutus and Hyalella azteca, following USEPA test methods 100.2 and 100.1, rData for Assessing the Status of Macroinvertebrate Communities and Sediment Toxicity in the Buffalo River Area of Concern, New York
Data from 10-day sediment toxicity tests of bed sediments from the Buffalo River Area of Concern (AOC) and reference reaches on the Buffalo River upstream of the AOC, Erie County, New York, respectively. Specifically, the data was used to compare the survival and growth of two macroinvertebrate species in sediments from study sites and laboratory controls. Results are from 10-day sediment exposureData from historic and contemporary fish community surveys in streams of the Adirondack Region
The dataset is composed of two data tables containing information from electrofishing surveys conducted in streams of the Adirondack region. The first data table contains information on the sampled reaches and the second data table contains fish collection information. Historical data (1979-1999) were collected by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and contemporary data (2Fish community and substrate data from tributaries to the Mohawk River
The dataset is composed of three data tables containing information from electrofishing and pebble count surveys conducted in tributaries to the Mohawk River in central and eastern New York during 2019. The first table contains information on the sampled reaches, the second table contains fish collection data, and the third table contains pebble count data.Environmental DNA (eDNA) and fish capture data from Round Goby screening surveys on the Eastern Erie Canal, New York
The dataset is composed of two tables containing data collected during screening surveys for invasive Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) on the Eastern Erie Canal in New York. Environmental DNA using water samples and traditional fish surveys using benthic trawling, seining, and trapping were conducted twice annually at 12 sites on the Eastern Erie Canal between Oneida Lake and the Hudson River fOrganic and metal contaminants in fish tissue collected from the Buffalo River Area of Concern, 2017
Fish tissue from 159 samples collected at four locations in the Buffalo River Area of Concern in 2017 were analyzed for a wide range of analytes including Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorine and other persistent organic compounds, metals, lipid and moisture. Over 230 analytes were analyzed in the tissue samples, including 160 PCB congenersBrook trout toxicity data from bioassays conducted in Western Adirondack Streams, 2001-03 and 2015-17
This dataset is composed of a single data table containing survival data and ancillary measurements for brook trout bioassays conducted in streams of the Western Adirondack Mountains during 2001-03 and 2015-17. At each stream site, 4 replicate bottles, each containing five young-of-year brook trout, are exposed to ambient stream waters for approximately one month during spring. - Publications
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Survey of fish communities in tributaries to the Mohawk River, New York, 2019
Fish communities of the Mohawk River and associated sections of the New York State Canal System have been well documented but little information is available regarding the status of fish communities in the extensive network of tributaries that feed the Mohawk River. This lack of information is problematic because changes in species distributions or general ecosystem health may go unnoticed in theCondition of macroinvertebrate communities in the Buffalo River Area of Concern following sediment remediation
The lower 10 km of the Buffalo River, a tributary to Lake Erie, was designated as an Area of Concern (AOC) in 1987 through the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement because sediment contamination and habitat alteration from past industrialization caused several Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs). Extensive remediation efforts conducted between 2011 and 2015 removed approximately 688,100 cubic metersThe Biscuit Brook and Neversink Reservoir Watersheds: Long-term investigations of stream chemistry, soil chemistry, and aquatic ecology in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA, 1983 to 2020
This data note describes the Biscuit Brook and Neversink Reservoir watershed Long-Term Monitoring Data that includes: 1) stream discharge, (1983 – 2020 for Biscuit Brook and 1937 – 2020 for the Neversink Reservoir watershed), 2) stream water chemistry, 1983-2020, at 4 stations, 3) fish survey data from 16 locations in the watershed 1990-2019, 4) soil chemistry data from 2 headwater sub-watersheds,Survey of fish assemblages in the upper Neversink River and upper Rondout Creek, New York, 2017–19
Streams in the Catskill Mountains region of New York provide many important ecological and economic services, including recreational angling and serving as a drinking water supply to New York City. Many streams in this region were adversely affected by acid deposition during the late 20th century, impairing water quality and aquatic ecosystems. More recently, the level of acid deposition has decliRegional target loads of atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur deposition for the protection of stream and watershed soil resources of the Adirondack Mountains, USA
Acidic deposition contributes to a range of environmental impacts across forested landscapes, including acidification of soil and drainage water, toxic aluminum mobilization, depletion of available soil nutrient cations, and impacts to forest and aquatic species health and biodiversity. In response to decreasing levels of acidic deposition, soils and drainage waters in some regions of North AmericConsiderations of variability and power for long-term monitoring of stream fish assemblages
Little attention has been given to optimizing statistical power for monitoring stream fish assemblages. We explored the relationship between temporal variability and statistical power using 34 metrics from fish community data collected annually at six sites over 10 years via electrofishing. Metric variability differed by the life stage and group of species considered, use of abundance or mass dataEastward expansion of Round Goby in New York: Assessment of detection methods and current range
The Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus has spread rapidly around the Great Lakes region since its introduction to North America in 1990. In 2014, a specimen was captured in the New York State Canal System west of Utica, prompting concerns that Round Goby would soon reach the ecologically and economically valuable watersheds of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River estuary. The establishment of RoundBiological and chemical recovery of acidified Catskill Mountain streams in response to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
Decades of acidic deposition have adversely affected aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in acid-sensitive watersheds in parts of the eastern United States. The national Acid Rain Program (Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments - CAAA) helped reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) and resulted in sharp decreases in the acidity of atmospheric deposition. The decreaThe response of streams to changes in atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen in the Adirondack Mountains
Acidic deposition is the result of upwind sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) emissions into the atmosphere from human activities. Environmental impacts from acidic deposition across forested landscapes include acidification of soil and drainage water, depletion of available soil nutrient bases, and impacts to and changes in forest and aquatic species composition and biodiversity. Acidic deposition can moQuantifying and addressing the prevalence and bias of study designs in the environmental and social sciences
Building trust in science and evidence-based decision-making depends heavily on the credibility of studies and their findings. Researchers employ many different study designs that vary in their risk of bias to evaluate the true effect of interventions or impacts. Here, we empirically quantify, on a large scale, the prevalence of different study designs and the magnitude of bias in their estimates.Decreases in aluminum toxicity and mortality of caged brook trout in Adirondack Mountain Streams
Mortality of juvenile brook trout and water chemistry were characterized in six western Adirondack streams in northern New York State during spring 2015, 2016, and 2017 and compared with results from comparable tests done between 1980 and 2003 in many of the same streams to assess temporal changes in inorganic monomeric aluminum (Ali) concentrations, Ali-toxicity, and the role of Ali-exposure duraCondition of resident fish communities in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern, New York
The lower 3.5 km of Eighteenmile Creek, a tributary to Lake Ontario in New York, was designated as an Area of Concern (AOC) in 1985 under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement due to extensive contamination of bed sediments by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other toxicants. Five beneficial use impairments (BUIs) have been identified in this AOC, including degraded fish and wildlife populatNon-USGS Publications**
Warren, D. R., A. G. Ernst, and B. P. Baldigo. 2009. Influence of spring floods on year-class strength of fall- and spring-spawning salmonids in Catskill Mountain streams. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 138(1):200-210.Baldigo, B. P., and T. P. Baudanza. 2001. Avoidance response and mortality of juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta) in tests with copper sulfate-treated waters from West Branch Reservoir, Putnam County, New York. U. S. Geological Survey, WRI 99-4237, Troy, NY.Baldigo, B. P., K. R. Riva-Murray, and G. E. Schuler. 2004. Effects of environmental and spatial features on mussel populations and communities in a North American river. Walkerana 14(31):1-32.Baldigo, B. P., D. R. Warren, A. S. Gallagher-Ernst, S. J. Miller, D. Davis, W.Keller, T. P. Baudanza, D. DeKoskie, and J. R. Buchanan, 2008. Restoring geomorphic stability and biodiversity in streams of the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA. Pages 1777-1790 in J. L. Nielsen, and coeditors, editors. Proceedings of the Fourth World Fisheries Congress: Reconciling fisheries with conservation, Symposium 49. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland.Smith, A. J., B. T. Duffy, D. L. Heitzman, J. Lojpersberger, L. E. Abele, B. P. Baldigo, M. R. McHale, S. G. George, J. Siemion, and M. A. Novak. 2013. Upper Esopus Creek: Biological Assessment, 2009-2010 Survey. NYSDEC SOP 208·09, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Troy, NY., 30 pp.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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