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
Genetic diversity is related to climatic variation and vulnerability in threatened bull trout
Landscape community genomics: understanding eco-evolutionary processes in complex environments
Genomics and introgression: Discovery and mapping of thousands of species-diagnostic SNPs using RAD sequencing
Status and conservation of interior Redband Trout in the western United States
Multiscale hydrogeomorphic influences on bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning habitat
Applications of genetic data to improve management and conservation of river fishes and their habitats
Dispersal and selection mediate hybridization between a native and invasive species
Climate-induced range contraction of a rare alpine aquatic invertebrate
Combining demographic and genetic factors to assess population vulnerability in stream species
Climate change and the Rocky Mountains
Quantifying the effectiveness of conservation measures to control the spread of anthropogenic hybridization in stream salmonids: A climate adaptation case study
Invasive hybridization in a threatened species is accelerated by climate change
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
Genetic diversity is related to climatic variation and vulnerability in threatened bull trout
Landscape community genomics: understanding eco-evolutionary processes in complex environments
Genomics and introgression: Discovery and mapping of thousands of species-diagnostic SNPs using RAD sequencing
Status and conservation of interior Redband Trout in the western United States
Multiscale hydrogeomorphic influences on bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning habitat
Applications of genetic data to improve management and conservation of river fishes and their habitats
Dispersal and selection mediate hybridization between a native and invasive species
Climate-induced range contraction of a rare alpine aquatic invertebrate
Combining demographic and genetic factors to assess population vulnerability in stream species
Climate change and the Rocky Mountains
Quantifying the effectiveness of conservation measures to control the spread of anthropogenic hybridization in stream salmonids: A climate adaptation case study
Invasive hybridization in a threatened species is accelerated by climate change
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