Christina A. Murphy, PhD
Assistant Unit Leader - Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Originally hailing from Oregon, Dr. Murphy received her MSc from the University of Girona, Spain and her PhD from Oregon State University. She was a post-doctoral fellow at Oregon State University before joining the Maine Unit in late 2020. She holds a graduate faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture at the University of Maine. Dr. Murphy prioritizes research with the potential to contribute to the information needs of natural resource managers. Her research interests are centered on top down and bottom up responses to disturbance, especially hydrological alteration. This includes evaluations of nutrient, light and habitat availability, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic insects, fish pathogens, food webs, and diverse fish assemblages. Current projects include, but are not limited to, understanding aquatic ecology in wetted forest lands, the role of introduced species in structuring aquatic food webs, and the influence of environmental flow regimes on ecological integrity. Dr. Murphy has taught Fish Ecology and Conservation and is currently teaching a Special Problems course in Bioenergetics.
Professional Experience
Assistant Unit Leader, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2020-
Education and Certifications
PhD, Oregon State University, 2019
MS, Universitat de Girona, 2011
BS, Oregon State University, 2008
Science and Products
Using parentage-based tagging to estimate survival of Chinook salmon fry in a large storage reservoir
Research efforts focusing on salmonid populations have highlighted the need to better understand demographic parameters for the fry and parr life stages. Monitoring these small fish presents a challenge because negative effects from handling and tagging can bias subsequent parameter estimates. Removal models and associated sampling designs represent one class of mark-recapture models with potentia
Authors
Adam Pope, Tobias Kock, Russell Perry, Karen M. Cogliati, Kathleen G. O'Malley, Christina Amy Murphy, Dalton Hance, Scott D. Fielding
Documenting historical anchorworm parasitism of introduced warmwater fishes in the Willamette River Basin, Oregon
Anchorworms (Lernaea spp.) are freshwater parasitic copepods that use a wide range of hosts. Yet little is known about their prevalence, distribution, and which species are their primary fish hosts in the state of Oregon. Institutional fish collections serve as banks which allow investigators to look at historical fish specimens and ascertain their health status at the time of their collection. We
Authors
Elena Eberhardt, Christina Amy Murphy, William J. Gerth, Peter Konstantinidis, Ivan Arismendi
Unique diet and Philonema sp. infections in reservoir-rearing juvenile Chinook Salmon
ObjectiveDams and reservoirs can alter juvenile growth and survival of migratory salmonids through several physical and biological mechanisms. Juvenile Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha that are produced upstream of large hydropower dams may have associated passage mortality, but the reservoirs created by these dams can support rapid growth. Characterizing the biotic drivers of growth and mo
Authors
Marina S. Larson, Anindo Choudhury, Ethan N. Gardner, Peter Konstantinidis, Christina Amy Murphy, Michael L. Kent, James Peterson, Claire E. Couch
Global patterns of allochthony in stream–riparian meta-ecosystems
Ecosystems that are coupled by reciprocal flows of energy and nutrient subsidies can be viewed as a single “meta-ecosystem.” Despite these connections, the reciprocal flow of subsidies is greatly asymmetrical and seasonally pulsed. Here, we synthesize existing literature on stream–riparian meta-ecosystems to quantify global patterns of the amount of subsidy consumption by organisms, known as “allo
Authors
Daniel C. Allen, James H. Larson, Christina Amy Murphy, Erica A. Garcia, Kurt E. Anderson, Michelle H. Busch, Alba Argerich, Alice M. Belskis, Kierstyn T. Higgins, Brooke E Penaluna, Veronica Saenz, Jay E. Jones, Matt R. Whiles
Evidence for infection influencing survival of the freshwater copepod Salmincola californiensis, a parasite of Pacific salmon and trout
ObjectiveWe explore apparent infection of Salmincola californiensis arising during investigations involving this lernaeopodid copepod parasitic on Pacific salmon and trout Oncorhynchus spp.MethodsWe noted occasional unusual coloration of adult female copepods collected from the wild. These females were bright blue and pink in contrast to the cream white coloration characteristic of the copepod. We
Authors
Christina Amy Murphy, William Gerth, Travis Neal, Kelsi Antonelli, Justin L. Sanders, Ivan Arismendi
Linked foraging and bioenergetics modeling may inform fish parasite infection dynamics
The parasitic copepod Salmincola californiensis infects Pacific salmon and trout (Oncorhynchus spp.) and often reaches high prevalence and intensity in reservoirs compared to stream systems. Recent research indicates that temperature plays a fundamental role in copepod development and fish susceptibility. Here, we expand a linked foraging and bioenergetics model to simulate infection risk. Based o
Authors
Christina Amy Murphy, Amanda Pollock, Sherri L Johnson, Ivan Arismendi
Science and Products
Using parentage-based tagging to estimate survival of Chinook salmon fry in a large storage reservoir
Research efforts focusing on salmonid populations have highlighted the need to better understand demographic parameters for the fry and parr life stages. Monitoring these small fish presents a challenge because negative effects from handling and tagging can bias subsequent parameter estimates. Removal models and associated sampling designs represent one class of mark-recapture models with potentia
Authors
Adam Pope, Tobias Kock, Russell Perry, Karen M. Cogliati, Kathleen G. O'Malley, Christina Amy Murphy, Dalton Hance, Scott D. Fielding
Documenting historical anchorworm parasitism of introduced warmwater fishes in the Willamette River Basin, Oregon
Anchorworms (Lernaea spp.) are freshwater parasitic copepods that use a wide range of hosts. Yet little is known about their prevalence, distribution, and which species are their primary fish hosts in the state of Oregon. Institutional fish collections serve as banks which allow investigators to look at historical fish specimens and ascertain their health status at the time of their collection. We
Authors
Elena Eberhardt, Christina Amy Murphy, William J. Gerth, Peter Konstantinidis, Ivan Arismendi
Unique diet and Philonema sp. infections in reservoir-rearing juvenile Chinook Salmon
ObjectiveDams and reservoirs can alter juvenile growth and survival of migratory salmonids through several physical and biological mechanisms. Juvenile Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha that are produced upstream of large hydropower dams may have associated passage mortality, but the reservoirs created by these dams can support rapid growth. Characterizing the biotic drivers of growth and mo
Authors
Marina S. Larson, Anindo Choudhury, Ethan N. Gardner, Peter Konstantinidis, Christina Amy Murphy, Michael L. Kent, James Peterson, Claire E. Couch
Global patterns of allochthony in stream–riparian meta-ecosystems
Ecosystems that are coupled by reciprocal flows of energy and nutrient subsidies can be viewed as a single “meta-ecosystem.” Despite these connections, the reciprocal flow of subsidies is greatly asymmetrical and seasonally pulsed. Here, we synthesize existing literature on stream–riparian meta-ecosystems to quantify global patterns of the amount of subsidy consumption by organisms, known as “allo
Authors
Daniel C. Allen, James H. Larson, Christina Amy Murphy, Erica A. Garcia, Kurt E. Anderson, Michelle H. Busch, Alba Argerich, Alice M. Belskis, Kierstyn T. Higgins, Brooke E Penaluna, Veronica Saenz, Jay E. Jones, Matt R. Whiles
Evidence for infection influencing survival of the freshwater copepod Salmincola californiensis, a parasite of Pacific salmon and trout
ObjectiveWe explore apparent infection of Salmincola californiensis arising during investigations involving this lernaeopodid copepod parasitic on Pacific salmon and trout Oncorhynchus spp.MethodsWe noted occasional unusual coloration of adult female copepods collected from the wild. These females were bright blue and pink in contrast to the cream white coloration characteristic of the copepod. We
Authors
Christina Amy Murphy, William Gerth, Travis Neal, Kelsi Antonelli, Justin L. Sanders, Ivan Arismendi
Linked foraging and bioenergetics modeling may inform fish parasite infection dynamics
The parasitic copepod Salmincola californiensis infects Pacific salmon and trout (Oncorhynchus spp.) and often reaches high prevalence and intensity in reservoirs compared to stream systems. Recent research indicates that temperature plays a fundamental role in copepod development and fish susceptibility. Here, we expand a linked foraging and bioenergetics model to simulate infection risk. Based o
Authors
Christina Amy Murphy, Amanda Pollock, Sherri L Johnson, Ivan Arismendi