Clint Muhlfeld, Ph.D.
I am a Research Aquatic Ecologist at the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) in West Glacier, Montana. I currently serve as the Acting Center Director of NOROCK in Bozeman, Montana.
Research interests
As a Research Aquatic Ecologist, I study the ecology, evolution, and conservation of freshwater species and ecosystems. My research examines how climate variability, hydrologic change, biological invasions, and habitat alteration influence freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem processes, with particular expertise in cold-water biota. I have led ecological and evolutionary studies across freshwater systems ranging from glacier-fed mountain streams and large river networks to lakes, as well as regional and global assessments of trout and char. My research combines long-term ecological studies, field research, genetics, and quantitative modeling and draws on multiple disciplines, including ecology, fisheries science, genetics, and hydrology.
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
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 24
Filter Total Items: 96
Accounting for adaptive capacity and uncertainty in assessments of species’ climate-change vulnerability Accounting for adaptive capacity and uncertainty in assessments of species’ climate-change vulnerability
Climate change vulnerability assessments (CCVAs) are valuable tools for assessing species’ vulnerability to climatic changes, yet failure to include measures of adaptive capacity and to account for sources of uncertainty may limit their effectiveness. Here, we provide a more comprehensive CCVA approach that incorporates all three elements used for assessing species’ climate change...
Authors
Alisa A. Wade, Brian K. Hand, Ryan Kovach, Gordon Luikart, Diane Whited, Clint C. Muhlfeld
Risk and efficacy of human-enabled interspecific hybridization for climate-change adaptation: Response to Hamilton and Miller (2016) Risk and efficacy of human-enabled interspecific hybridization for climate-change adaptation: Response to Hamilton and Miller (2016)
Hamilton and Miller (2016) provide an interesting and provocative discussion of how hybridization and introgression can promote evolutionary potential in the face of climate change. They argue that hybridization—mating between individuals from genetically distinct populations—can alleviate inbreeding depression and promote adaptive introgression and evolutionary rescue. We agree that...
Authors
Ryan P. Kovach, Gordon Luikart, Winsor H. Lowe, Matthew C. Boyer, Clint C. Muhlfeld
Climate variables explain neutral and adaptive variation within salmonid metapopulations: The importance of replication in landscape genetics Climate variables explain neutral and adaptive variation within salmonid metapopulations: The importance of replication in landscape genetics
Understanding how environmental variation influences population genetic structure is important for conservation management because it can reveal how human stressors influence population connectivity, genetic diversity and persistence. We used riverscape genetics modelling to assess whether climatic and habitat variables were related to neutral and adaptive patterns of genetic...
Authors
Brian K. Hand, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Alisa A. Wade, Ryan Kovach, Diane C. Whited, Shawn R. Narum, Andrew P. Matala, Michael W. Ackerman, B. A. Garner, John S Kimball, Jack A. Stanford, Gordon Luikart
Genetic status and conservation of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Glacier National Park Genetic status and conservation of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Glacier National Park
Invasive hybridization is one of the greatest threats to the persistence of Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi. Large protected areas, where nonhybridized populations are interconnected and express historical life history and genetic diversity, provide some of the last ecological and evolutionary strongholds for conserving this species. Here, we describe the genetic...
Authors
Clint C. Muhlfeld, Vincent S. D'Angelo, Christopher C. Downs, John D. Powell, Stephen J. Amish, Gordon Luikart, Ryan Kovach, Matthew C. Boyer, Steven T. Kalinowski
Impacts of climatic variation on trout: A global synthesis and path forward Impacts of climatic variation on trout: A global synthesis and path forward
Despite increasing concern that climate change may negatively impact trout—a globally distributed group of fish with major economic, ecological, and cultural value—a synthetic assessment of empirical data quantifying relationships between climatic variation and trout ecology does not exist. We conducted a systematic review to describe how temporal variation in temperature and streamflow...
Authors
Ryan Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Jason B. Dunham, Benjamin Letcher, Jeffrey L. Kershner
Effects of hybridization between nonnative Rainbow Trout and native Westslope Cutthroat Trout on fitness-related traits Effects of hybridization between nonnative Rainbow Trout and native Westslope Cutthroat Trout on fitness-related traits
Hybridization between introduced and native fauna is a risk to native species and may threaten the long-term persistence of numerous taxa. Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss has been one of the most widely introduced species around the globe and often hybridizes with native Cutthroat Trout O. clarkii in the Rocky Mountains. Previous work has shown that hybridization negatively affects...
Authors
Daniel P. Drinan, Molly A. H. Webb, Kerry A. Naish, Steven T. Kalinowski, Matthew C. Boyer, Amber C. Steed, Bradley B. Shepard, Clint C. Muhlfeld
Spatial sorting promotes the spread of maladaptive hybridization Spatial sorting promotes the spread of maladaptive hybridization
Invasive hybridization is causing loss of biodiversity worldwide. The spread of such introgression can occur even when hybrids have reduced Darwinian fitness, which decreases the frequency of hybrids due to low survival or reproduction through time. This paradox can be partially explained by spatial sorting, where genotypes associated with dispersal increase in frequency at the edge of...
Authors
Winsor H. Lowe, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Fred W. Allendorf
Genetic diversity is related to climatic variation and vulnerability in threatened bull trout Genetic diversity is related to climatic variation and vulnerability in threatened bull trout
Understanding how climatic variation influences ecological and evolutionary processes is crucial for informed conservation decision-making. Nevertheless, few studies have measured how climatic variation influences genetic diversity within populations or how genetic diversity is distributed across space relative to future climatic stress. Here, we tested whether patterns of genetic...
Authors
Ryan Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Alisa A. Wade, Brian K. Hand, Diane C. Whited, Patrick W. DeHaan, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Gordon Luikart
Landscape community genomics: understanding eco-evolutionary processes in complex environments Landscape community genomics: understanding eco-evolutionary processes in complex environments
Extrinsic factors influencing evolutionary processes are often categorically lumped into interactions that are environmentally (e.g., climate, landscape) or community-driven, with little consideration of the overlap or influence of one on the other. However, genomic variation is strongly influenced by complex and dynamic interactions between environmental and community effects. Failure...
Authors
Brian K. Hand, Winsor H. Lowe, Ryan P. Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Gordon Luikart
Genomics and introgression: Discovery and mapping of thousands of species-diagnostic SNPs using RAD sequencing Genomics and introgression: Discovery and mapping of thousands of species-diagnostic SNPs using RAD sequencing
Invasive hybridization and introgression pose a serious threat to the persistence of many native species. Understanding the effects of hybridization on native populations (e.g., fitness consequences) requires numerous species-diagnostic loci distributed genome-wide. Here we used RAD sequencing to discover thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are diagnostic between...
Authors
Brian K. Hand, Tyler D Hether, Ryan P. Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Stephen J. Amish, Matthew C. Boyer, Sean M. O’Rourke, Michael R. Miller, Winsor H. Lowe, Paul A. Hohenlohe, Gordon Luikart
Status and conservation of interior Redband Trout in the western United States Status and conservation of interior Redband Trout in the western United States
In this article we describe the current status and conservation of interior (potamodromous) Redband Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss sspp. throughout its range in the western United States using extant data and expert opinion provided by fish managers. Redband Trout historically occupied 60,295 km of stream habitat and 152 natural lakes. Currently, Redband Trout occupy 25,417 km of stream...
Authors
Clint C. Muhlfeld, Shannon E. Albeke, Stephanie L Gunckel, Benjamin J Writer, Bradley B. Shepard, Bruce E May
Multiscale hydrogeomorphic influences on bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning habitat Multiscale hydrogeomorphic influences on bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning habitat
We investigated multiscale hydrogeomorphic influences on the distribution and abundance of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning in snowmelt-dominated streams of the upper Flathead River basin, northwestern Montana. Within our study reaches, bull trout tended to spawn in the finest available gravel substrates. Analysis of the mobility of these substrates, based on one-dimensional...
Authors
Jared R Bean, Andrew C. Wilcox, William W. Woessner, Clint C. Muhlfeld
Non-USGS Publications**
Muhlfeld, Clint C., Thomas E. McMahon, and Durae Belcer. 2009. Spatial and temporal dynamics of spawning between native westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi), introduced rainbow trout (O. mykiss), and their hybrids. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 66:1153-1168.
Muhlfeld, Clint C., Thomas E. McMahon, Matthew C. Boyer, and Robert E. Gresswell. 2009. Local-habitat, watershed, and biotic factors in the spread of hybridization between native westslope cutthroat trout and introduced rainbow trout. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 138:1036-1051.
Boyer, Matthew C., Clint C. Muhlfeld, and Fred Allendorf. 2008. Rainbow trout invasion and the spread of hybridization with westslope cutthroat trout. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 65:658-669.
Muhlfeld, Clint C., David H. Bennett, Kirk Steinhorst, Brian Marotz, and Matthew C. Boyer. 2008. Using bioenergetics modeling to estimate consumption of native juvenile salmonids by nonnative northern pike in the upper Flathead River system, Montana. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28:636-648.
**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
Filter Total Items: 24
Filter Total Items: 96
Accounting for adaptive capacity and uncertainty in assessments of species’ climate-change vulnerability Accounting for adaptive capacity and uncertainty in assessments of species’ climate-change vulnerability
Climate change vulnerability assessments (CCVAs) are valuable tools for assessing species’ vulnerability to climatic changes, yet failure to include measures of adaptive capacity and to account for sources of uncertainty may limit their effectiveness. Here, we provide a more comprehensive CCVA approach that incorporates all three elements used for assessing species’ climate change...
Authors
Alisa A. Wade, Brian K. Hand, Ryan Kovach, Gordon Luikart, Diane Whited, Clint C. Muhlfeld
Risk and efficacy of human-enabled interspecific hybridization for climate-change adaptation: Response to Hamilton and Miller (2016) Risk and efficacy of human-enabled interspecific hybridization for climate-change adaptation: Response to Hamilton and Miller (2016)
Hamilton and Miller (2016) provide an interesting and provocative discussion of how hybridization and introgression can promote evolutionary potential in the face of climate change. They argue that hybridization—mating between individuals from genetically distinct populations—can alleviate inbreeding depression and promote adaptive introgression and evolutionary rescue. We agree that...
Authors
Ryan P. Kovach, Gordon Luikart, Winsor H. Lowe, Matthew C. Boyer, Clint C. Muhlfeld
Climate variables explain neutral and adaptive variation within salmonid metapopulations: The importance of replication in landscape genetics Climate variables explain neutral and adaptive variation within salmonid metapopulations: The importance of replication in landscape genetics
Understanding how environmental variation influences population genetic structure is important for conservation management because it can reveal how human stressors influence population connectivity, genetic diversity and persistence. We used riverscape genetics modelling to assess whether climatic and habitat variables were related to neutral and adaptive patterns of genetic...
Authors
Brian K. Hand, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Alisa A. Wade, Ryan Kovach, Diane C. Whited, Shawn R. Narum, Andrew P. Matala, Michael W. Ackerman, B. A. Garner, John S Kimball, Jack A. Stanford, Gordon Luikart
Genetic status and conservation of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Glacier National Park Genetic status and conservation of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Glacier National Park
Invasive hybridization is one of the greatest threats to the persistence of Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi. Large protected areas, where nonhybridized populations are interconnected and express historical life history and genetic diversity, provide some of the last ecological and evolutionary strongholds for conserving this species. Here, we describe the genetic...
Authors
Clint C. Muhlfeld, Vincent S. D'Angelo, Christopher C. Downs, John D. Powell, Stephen J. Amish, Gordon Luikart, Ryan Kovach, Matthew C. Boyer, Steven T. Kalinowski
Impacts of climatic variation on trout: A global synthesis and path forward Impacts of climatic variation on trout: A global synthesis and path forward
Despite increasing concern that climate change may negatively impact trout—a globally distributed group of fish with major economic, ecological, and cultural value—a synthetic assessment of empirical data quantifying relationships between climatic variation and trout ecology does not exist. We conducted a systematic review to describe how temporal variation in temperature and streamflow...
Authors
Ryan Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Jason B. Dunham, Benjamin Letcher, Jeffrey L. Kershner
Effects of hybridization between nonnative Rainbow Trout and native Westslope Cutthroat Trout on fitness-related traits Effects of hybridization between nonnative Rainbow Trout and native Westslope Cutthroat Trout on fitness-related traits
Hybridization between introduced and native fauna is a risk to native species and may threaten the long-term persistence of numerous taxa. Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss has been one of the most widely introduced species around the globe and often hybridizes with native Cutthroat Trout O. clarkii in the Rocky Mountains. Previous work has shown that hybridization negatively affects...
Authors
Daniel P. Drinan, Molly A. H. Webb, Kerry A. Naish, Steven T. Kalinowski, Matthew C. Boyer, Amber C. Steed, Bradley B. Shepard, Clint C. Muhlfeld
Spatial sorting promotes the spread of maladaptive hybridization Spatial sorting promotes the spread of maladaptive hybridization
Invasive hybridization is causing loss of biodiversity worldwide. The spread of such introgression can occur even when hybrids have reduced Darwinian fitness, which decreases the frequency of hybrids due to low survival or reproduction through time. This paradox can be partially explained by spatial sorting, where genotypes associated with dispersal increase in frequency at the edge of...
Authors
Winsor H. Lowe, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Fred W. Allendorf
Genetic diversity is related to climatic variation and vulnerability in threatened bull trout Genetic diversity is related to climatic variation and vulnerability in threatened bull trout
Understanding how climatic variation influences ecological and evolutionary processes is crucial for informed conservation decision-making. Nevertheless, few studies have measured how climatic variation influences genetic diversity within populations or how genetic diversity is distributed across space relative to future climatic stress. Here, we tested whether patterns of genetic...
Authors
Ryan Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Alisa A. Wade, Brian K. Hand, Diane C. Whited, Patrick W. DeHaan, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Gordon Luikart
Landscape community genomics: understanding eco-evolutionary processes in complex environments Landscape community genomics: understanding eco-evolutionary processes in complex environments
Extrinsic factors influencing evolutionary processes are often categorically lumped into interactions that are environmentally (e.g., climate, landscape) or community-driven, with little consideration of the overlap or influence of one on the other. However, genomic variation is strongly influenced by complex and dynamic interactions between environmental and community effects. Failure...
Authors
Brian K. Hand, Winsor H. Lowe, Ryan P. Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Gordon Luikart
Genomics and introgression: Discovery and mapping of thousands of species-diagnostic SNPs using RAD sequencing Genomics and introgression: Discovery and mapping of thousands of species-diagnostic SNPs using RAD sequencing
Invasive hybridization and introgression pose a serious threat to the persistence of many native species. Understanding the effects of hybridization on native populations (e.g., fitness consequences) requires numerous species-diagnostic loci distributed genome-wide. Here we used RAD sequencing to discover thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are diagnostic between...
Authors
Brian K. Hand, Tyler D Hether, Ryan P. Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Stephen J. Amish, Matthew C. Boyer, Sean M. O’Rourke, Michael R. Miller, Winsor H. Lowe, Paul A. Hohenlohe, Gordon Luikart
Status and conservation of interior Redband Trout in the western United States Status and conservation of interior Redband Trout in the western United States
In this article we describe the current status and conservation of interior (potamodromous) Redband Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss sspp. throughout its range in the western United States using extant data and expert opinion provided by fish managers. Redband Trout historically occupied 60,295 km of stream habitat and 152 natural lakes. Currently, Redband Trout occupy 25,417 km of stream...
Authors
Clint C. Muhlfeld, Shannon E. Albeke, Stephanie L Gunckel, Benjamin J Writer, Bradley B. Shepard, Bruce E May
Multiscale hydrogeomorphic influences on bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning habitat Multiscale hydrogeomorphic influences on bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning habitat
We investigated multiscale hydrogeomorphic influences on the distribution and abundance of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning in snowmelt-dominated streams of the upper Flathead River basin, northwestern Montana. Within our study reaches, bull trout tended to spawn in the finest available gravel substrates. Analysis of the mobility of these substrates, based on one-dimensional...
Authors
Jared R Bean, Andrew C. Wilcox, William W. Woessner, Clint C. Muhlfeld
Non-USGS Publications**
Muhlfeld, Clint C., Thomas E. McMahon, and Durae Belcer. 2009. Spatial and temporal dynamics of spawning between native westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi), introduced rainbow trout (O. mykiss), and their hybrids. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 66:1153-1168.
Muhlfeld, Clint C., Thomas E. McMahon, Matthew C. Boyer, and Robert E. Gresswell. 2009. Local-habitat, watershed, and biotic factors in the spread of hybridization between native westslope cutthroat trout and introduced rainbow trout. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 138:1036-1051.
Boyer, Matthew C., Clint C. Muhlfeld, and Fred Allendorf. 2008. Rainbow trout invasion and the spread of hybridization with westslope cutthroat trout. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 65:658-669.
Muhlfeld, Clint C., David H. Bennett, Kirk Steinhorst, Brian Marotz, and Matthew C. Boyer. 2008. Using bioenergetics modeling to estimate consumption of native juvenile salmonids by nonnative northern pike in the upper Flathead River system, Montana. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28:636-648.
**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.