Clint Muhlfeld, Ph.D.
I am a Research Aquatic Ecologist for the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center stationed in Glacier National Park and Associate Research Professor at the University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station.
Research interests
My general research interests encompass the fields of aquatic ecology, fisheries biology, and conservation biology. My research goal is to understand how aquatic species interact with physical and biological templates over space and time to inform conservation and management. Specifically, my applied research focuses on assessing how human stressors – invasive species, habitat modification, and climate change – influence native salmonids and rare alpine macroinvertebrates in the Rocky Mountains of United States and Canada.
My research spans a range of scientific and conservation issues from examining evolutionary and ecological impacts of invasive species on native fishes, assessing life history and genetic diversity of native salmonids, assessing the status of threatened freshwater species, investigating the impacts of dams and barriers on aquatic species and ecosystems, developing quantitative models (e.g., stream temperature, instream flow/habitat, bioenergetics, riverscape connectivity, population viability) to predict species’ responses to environmental change, to understanding and predicting the impacts of climate change on freshwater species and ecosystems.
I particularly enjoy collaboration and multidisciplinary research, and advising and educating graduate students working on freshwater ecology and conservation biology projects. Currently, I actively participate on several regional, national, and international science teams that address natural resource issues facing aquatic ecosystems. My hope is that the ecological integrity of aquatic ecosystems will be conserved for future generations through research-informed management and education.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 2008. Fish and Wildlife Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman
M.S. 1999. Fishery Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow
B.S. 1994. Aquatic Biology, University of Montana, Missoula; University of Maine, Orono
Affiliations and Memberships*
Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana
Science and Products
Climate, invasive species and land use drive population dynamics of a cold-water specialist
A framework for assessing the feasibility of native fish conservation translocations: Applications to threatened bull trout
Loss of genetic diversity and increased subdivision in an endemic Alpine Stonefly threatened by climate change
Gravel-bed river floodplains are the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes
Conservation of native Pacific trout diversity in western North America
Accounting for adaptive capacity and uncertainty in assessments of species’ climate-change vulnerability
Risk and efficacy of human-enabled interspecific hybridization for climate-change adaptation: Response to Hamilton and Miller (2016)
Climate variables explain neutral and adaptive variation within salmonid metapopulations: The importance of replication in landscape genetics
Genetic status and conservation of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Glacier National Park
Impacts of climatic variation on trout: A global synthesis and path forward
Effects of hybridization between nonnative Rainbow Trout and native Westslope Cutthroat Trout on fitness-related traits
Spatial sorting promotes the spread of maladaptive hybridization
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
Climate, invasive species and land use drive population dynamics of a cold-water specialist
A framework for assessing the feasibility of native fish conservation translocations: Applications to threatened bull trout
Loss of genetic diversity and increased subdivision in an endemic Alpine Stonefly threatened by climate change
Gravel-bed river floodplains are the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes
Conservation of native Pacific trout diversity in western North America
Accounting for adaptive capacity and uncertainty in assessments of species’ climate-change vulnerability
Risk and efficacy of human-enabled interspecific hybridization for climate-change adaptation: Response to Hamilton and Miller (2016)
Climate variables explain neutral and adaptive variation within salmonid metapopulations: The importance of replication in landscape genetics
Genetic status and conservation of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Glacier National Park
Impacts of climatic variation on trout: A global synthesis and path forward
Effects of hybridization between nonnative Rainbow Trout and native Westslope Cutthroat Trout on fitness-related traits
Spatial sorting promotes the spread of maladaptive hybridization
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.
*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