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Craig Paukert, PhD

Unit Leader - Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Research Interests

Craig's main research interests are conservation and management of stream and river fishes. However, he also has a background and interest in lake and reservoirs fisheries and have conducted research on systems such as the Colorado and Missouri Rivers, but also large reservoirs, natural lakes, and small streams.

 

Professional Experience

  • Unit Leader, Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2010-

  • Unit Leader, Texas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 1989-2010

Education and Certifications

  • Ph D South Dakota State University 2001

  • MS Oklahoma State University 1998

  • BS University of Minnesota 1993

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 69

Reducing uncertainty in climate change responses of inland fishes: A decision-path approach

Climate change will continue to be an important consideration for conservation practitioners. However, uncertainty in identifying appropriate management strategies, particularly for understudied species and regions, constrains the implementation of science-based solutions and adaptation strategies. Here, we share a decision-path approach to reduce uncertainty in climate change responses of inland
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

A Resist-Accept-Direct decision-support tool for walleye Sander vitreus (Mitchill) management in Wisconsin

Large-scale modelling and prediction provide insight into general influences of climate change on inland recreational fisheries; however, small-scale dynamics and local expertise will be key in developing explicit goals for managing recreational fisheries as the climate changes. The resist-accept-direct (RAD) framework encompasses the entire decision space managers consider when addressing climate
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Winter habitat selection and efficacy of telemetry to aid Grass Carp removal efforts in a large reservoir

Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella were introduced in North America to control aquatic vegetation in small, closed systems. However, when they escape into larger systems in which they can reproduce, they have the potential to cause significant declines and alterations in aquatic vegetation communities. These alterations can in turn affect native species that are dependent on aquatic vegetation. In
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Columbia Environmental Research Center

Co-occurring lotic crayfishes exhibit variable long-term responses to extreme-flow events and temperature

Crayfish serve critical roles in aquatic ecosystems as engineers, omnivores, and prey. It is unclear how increasingly frequent extreme-flow events and warming air temperatures will affect crayfish populations, partly because there are few long-term crayfish monitoring datasets. Using a unique 10-y dataset, we asked 1) whether recruitment of crayfishes in summer responded to extreme-flow events and
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Cooperative Research Units

The U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat): Development, applications, and opportunities

Inland recreational fishing, defined as primarily leisure-driven fishing in freshwaters, is a popular pastime in the USA. State natural resource agencies endeavor to provide high-quality and sustainable fishing opportunities for anglers. Managers often use creel and other angler survey data to inform state- and waterbody-level management efforts. Despite the broad implementation of angler surveys
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Climate change effects on North American fish and fisheries to inform adaptation strategies

Climate change is a global persistent threat to fish and fish habitats throughout North America. Climate-induced modification of environmental regimes, including changes in streamflow, water temperature, salinity, storm surges, and habitat connectivity can change fish physiology, disrupt spawning cues, cause fish extinctions and invasions, and alter fish community structure. Reducing greenhouse em
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Accounting for dispersal and local habitat when evaluating tributary use by riverine fishes

Conservation practitioners increasingly recognize the conservation value of tributaries for supporting mainstem, large-river specialist fishes. A tributarys discharge at its mouth is a coarse indicator of large-river specialist fishes found within the tributary, but the relative influences of regional dispersal and local habitat underpinning this species-discharge relationship is often unknown. W
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Cooperative Research Units

The ten steps to responsible Inland fisheries in practice: Reflections from diverse regional case studies around the globe

Inland fisheries make substantial contributions to food security and livelihoods locally, regionally, and globally but their conservation and management have been largely overlooked by policy makers. In an effort to remedy this limited recognition, a cross-sectoral community of scientists, practitioners, and policy makers from around the world convened a high-level meeting in 2015 at the Food and
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Harvest as a tool to manage populations of undesirable or overabundant fish and wildlife

Harvest is a common management tool for fish and game species and can also be used for overabundant populations when stakeholders want to reduce populations reduced and still provide recreational opportunities. The authors propose a framework to determine if harvest can be used to control populations when overabundance is an issue, stakeholders support harvest, information is available to set harv
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Cooperative Research Units

Incorporating established conservation networks into freshwater conservation planning results in more workable prioritizations

Resources for addressing stream fish conservation issues are often limited and the stressors impacting fish continue to increase, so decision makers often rely on tools to prioritize locations for conservation actions. Because conservation networks already exist in many areas, incorporating these into the planning process can increase the ability of decision makers to carry out management actions.
By
Cooperative Research Units

Is there enough water? How bearish and bullish outlooks are linked to decision-maker perspectives on environmental flows

Policies that mandate environmental flows (e-flows) can be powerful tools for freshwater conservation, but implementation of these policies faces many hurdles. To better understand these challenges, we explored two key questions: (1) What additional data are needed to implement e-flows? and (2) What are the major socio-political barriers to implementing e-flows? We surveyed water and natural resou
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Seasonal selection of riverine habitat by Spotted Bass and Shorthead Redhorse in a regulated river in the Midwestern U.S.

Riverine fish populations depend on habitats supporting their resource and life history needs. Dynamic streamflow caused by river regulation or natural events influences the distribution of downstream habitat characteristics. Through studying habitat selection, we can identify the most utilized and valuable habitats for the success of native fishes. We determined seasonal habitat selection of two
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Cooperative Research Units
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Wilkinson Island flooding extent and depth

Exploring the Potential for Conservation Lands in Middle Mississippi River Floodplains to Mitigate Flood Flows for Ecosystem Services

Reconnection of floodplains to their rivers has been considered a fundamentally beneficial ecological practice.
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Land Management Research Program, Columbia Environmental Research Center
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Exploring the Potential for Conservation Lands in Middle Mississippi River Floodplains to Mitigate Flood Flows for Ecosystem Services

Reconnection of floodplains to their rivers has been considered a fundamentally beneficial ecological practice.
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Curious smallmouth bass following behind scuba divers in Sparkling Lake, Vilas County, Wis. Photographer: Gretchen Hansen, Wisco

Quantifying the Impacts of Climate Change on Fish Growth and Production to Enable Sustainable Management of Diverse Inland Fisheries

Fisheries managers in Midwestern lakes and reservoirs are tasked with balancing multiple management objectives to help maintain healthy fish populations across a landscape of diverse lakes. As part of this, managers monitor fish growth and survival. Growth rates in particular are indicators of population health, and directly influence the effectiveness of regulations designed to protect spawning f
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Climate Adaptation Science Centers
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Quantifying the Impacts of Climate Change on Fish Growth and Production to Enable Sustainable Management of Diverse Inland Fisheries

Fisheries managers in Midwestern lakes and reservoirs are tasked with balancing multiple management objectives to help maintain healthy fish populations across a landscape of diverse lakes. As part of this, managers monitor fish growth and survival. Growth rates in particular are indicators of population health, and directly influence the effectiveness of regulations designed to protect spawning f
Learn More
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Smallmouth Bass Underwater with Bubbles

State of the Science on the Effects of Climate Change on North American Inland Fishes

Changes in the Earth’s climate are expected to impact freshwater habitats around the world by altering water temperatures, water levels, and streamflow. These changes will have consequences for inland fish – those found within lakes, rivers, streams, canals, reservoirs, and other landlocked waters – which are important for food, commerce, and recreation around the world. According to the U.S. Fish...
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Climate Adaptation Science Centers
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State of the Science on the Effects of Climate Change on North American Inland Fishes

Changes in the Earth’s climate are expected to impact freshwater habitats around the world by altering water temperatures, water levels, and streamflow. These changes will have consequences for inland fish – those found within lakes, rivers, streams, canals, reservoirs, and other landlocked waters – which are important for food, commerce, and recreation around the world. According to the U.S. Fish...
Learn More
link
Smallmouth Bass

Projected Climate Change Impacts on Stream Dwelling Smallmouth Bass Populations in the U.S. (Local Assessment)

The smallmouth bass (SMB) is a widespread species with a distribution that extends throughout the eastern and central U.S., in addition to introduced populations in other regions. From a management perspective, the SMB is important both as a popular sport fish and as a threat to native species where it is present outside of its natural range. Understanding the population-level responses of this sp
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Climate Adaptation Science Centers
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Projected Climate Change Impacts on Stream Dwelling Smallmouth Bass Populations in the U.S. (Local Assessment)

The smallmouth bass (SMB) is a widespread species with a distribution that extends throughout the eastern and central U.S., in addition to introduced populations in other regions. From a management perspective, the SMB is important both as a popular sport fish and as a threat to native species where it is present outside of its natural range. Understanding the population-level responses of this sp
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This is a photo of still water on the Colorado River below Lees Ferry entering Marble Canyon.

Projected Climate and Land Use Change Impacts on Aquatic Habitats of the Lower Colorado River Basin (Regional Assessment)

Previous climate change research for the Colorado River Basin has used down-scaled climate models to predict impacts to hydropower and the potential ability to meet mandated water releases. The Lower Colorado River Basin (LCRB) has one of the most imperiled fish faunas in the nation with about half of the native fish species listed as Threatened or Endangered under the Federal Endangered Species A
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Climate Adaptation Science Centers
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Projected Climate and Land Use Change Impacts on Aquatic Habitats of the Lower Colorado River Basin (Regional Assessment)

Previous climate change research for the Colorado River Basin has used down-scaled climate models to predict impacts to hydropower and the potential ability to meet mandated water releases. The Lower Colorado River Basin (LCRB) has one of the most imperiled fish faunas in the nation with about half of the native fish species listed as Threatened or Endangered under the Federal Endangered Species A
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Science to Inform Management of Floodplain Conservation Lands on the Middle Mississippi River

Within large-river ecosystems, floodplains serve a variety of important ecological functions. A recent survey of 80 managers of floodplain conservation lands along the Upper and Middle Mississippi and Lower Missouri Rivers in the central United States found that the most critical information needed to improve floodplain management centered on metrics for characterizing depth, extent, frequency, du
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Columbia Environmental Research Center

Data Supporting a Framework to Incorporate Established Conservation Networks into Freshwater Conservation Planning

This data set provides the results of a conservation prioritization analysis for wadeable streams in Missouri, USA. Higher values (Maximum of 1) represent higher conservation value. Conservation values were derived using Zonation conservation planning software which used species distribution models, a prioritization algorithm (either Core-Area or Additive Benefit), species weighting (None, Vulnera
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Cooperative Research Units
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In Hot Water: Climate Change is Affecting North American Fish

Climate change is already affecting inland fish across North America -- including some fish that are popular with anglers. Scientists are seeing a...

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