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
Exploring the Potential for Conservation Lands in Middle Mississippi River Floodplains to Mitigate Flood Flows for Ecosystem Services
Quantifying the Impacts of Climate Change on Fish Growth and Production to Enable Sustainable Management of Diverse Inland Fisheries
State of the Science on the Effects of Climate Change on North American Inland Fishes
Projected Climate Change Impacts on Stream Dwelling Smallmouth Bass Populations in the U.S. (Local Assessment)
Projected Climate and Land Use Change Impacts on Aquatic Habitats of the Lower Colorado River Basin (Regional Assessment)
Science to Inform Management of Floodplain Conservation Lands on the Middle Mississippi River
Fish and Climate Change (FiCli) Database: Informing climate change adaptation and management actions for freshwater fishes
Data Supporting a Framework to Incorporate Established Conservation Networks into Freshwater Conservation Planning
FishTail, Indices and Supporting Data Characterizing the Current and Future Risk to Fish Habitat Degradation in the Northeast Climate Science Center Region
Climate impacts to inland fishes: Shifting research topics over time
CreelCat, a Catalog of United States Inland Creel and Angler Survey Data
Estimating lentic recreational fisheries catch and effort across the United States
Diverse portfolios: Investing in tributaries for restoration of large river fishes in the Anthropocene
Movement ecology of diploid and triploid grass carp in a large reservoir and upstream tributaries
Reducing uncertainty in climate change responses of inland fishes: A decision-path approach
A Resist-Accept-Direct decision-support tool for walleye Sander vitreus (Mitchill) management in Wisconsin
Winter habitat selection and efficacy of telemetry to aid Grass Carp removal efforts in a large reservoir
Co-occurring lotic crayfishes exhibit variable long-term responses to extreme-flow events and temperature
The U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat): Development, applications, and opportunities
Climate change effects on North American fish and fisheries to inform adaptation strategies
Accounting for dispersal and local habitat when evaluating tributary use by riverine fishes
Lake Class and Walleye Natural Resources Information
The goal of this tool is that users of the tool can use the information provided here to inform their decisions (or their advice to those with decision-making authority) about whether to Resist, Accept, or Direct in walleye fisheries in Wisconsin.
Science and Products
- Science
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.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 fState 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. FishProjected 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 spProjected 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 - Data
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, duFish and Climate Change (FiCli) Database: Informing climate change adaptation and management actions for freshwater fishes
Inland fishes provide important ecosystem services to communities worldwide and are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Fish respond to climate change in diverse and nuanced ways, which creates challenges for practitioners of fish conservation, climate change adaptation, and management. Although climate change is known to affect fish globally, a comprehensive online, public datData 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, VulneraFishTail, Indices and Supporting Data Characterizing the Current and Future Risk to Fish Habitat Degradation in the Northeast Climate Science Center Region
Human impacts occurring throughout the Northeast and Midwest United States, including urbanization, agriculture, and dams, have multiple effects on the regions streams which support economically valuable stream fishes. Changes in climate are expected to lead to additional impacts in stream habitats and fish assemblages in multiple ways, including changing stream water temperatures. To manage str - Publications
Filter Total Items: 74
Climate impacts to inland fishes: Shifting research topics over time
Climate change remains a primary threat to inland fishes and fisheries. Using topic modeling to examine trends and relationships across 36 years of scientific literature on documented and projected climate impacts to inland fish, we identify ten representative topics within this body of literature: assemblages, climate scenarios, distribution, climate drivers, population growth, invasive species,AuthorsAbigail Lynch, Andrew DiSanto, Julian D. Olden, Cindy Chu, Craig Paukert, Daria Gundermann, Mitchel Lang, Ray Zhang, Trevor J. KrabbenhoftCreelCat, a Catalog of United States Inland Creel and Angler Survey Data
The United States Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat) contains a national compilation of angler and creel survey data collected by natural resource management agencies across the United States (including Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico). These surveys are used to help inform the management of recreational fisheries, by collecting information about anglers including what they are catAuthorsNicholas Allen Sievert, Abigail Lynch, Holly Susan Embke, Ashley Robertson, Mitchel Lang, Anna Kaz, Matthew Robertson, Steve R. Midway, Lyndsie S. Wszola, Craig PaukertEstimating lentic recreational fisheries catch and effort across the United States
Recreational fisheries represent a socially, ecologically, and economically significant component of global fisheries. The U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat) database includes inland recreational fisheries survey data across the United States to facilitate large-scale analyses. However, because survey methods differ, a statistical method capable of integrating these surveys isAuthorsMatthew Robertson, Stephen R. Midway, Holly Susan Embke, Anna Kaz, Mitchel Lang, Craig Paukert, Nicholas A. Sievert, Lyndsie S. Wszola, Abigail LynchDiverse portfolios: Investing in tributaries for restoration of large river fishes in the Anthropocene
Rehabilitation of large Anthropocene rivers requires engagement of diverse stakeholders across a broad range of sociopolitical boundaries. Competing objectives often constrain options for ecological restoration of large rivers whereas fewer competing objectives may exist in a subset of tributaries. Further, tributaries contribute toward building a “portfolio” of river ecosystem assets through physAuthorsKristen L. Bouska, Brian Daniel Healy, Michael James Moore, Corey Garland Dunn, Jonathan J Spurgeon, Craig PaukertMovement ecology of diploid and triploid grass carp in a large reservoir and upstream tributaries
Grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, is an herbivorous fish originally brought to North America from Asia in 1963 to control nuisance aquatic vegetation. Since their arrival, detrimental alterations to aquatic ecosystems have sometimes occurred in waterways where they were initially stocked and into which they have escaped. The movements of grass carp from lentic systems into tributaries required fAuthorsTyler Michael Hessler, Duane Chapman, Craig Paukert, Jeff C. Jolley, Michael E. ByrneReducing 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 inlandAuthorsAbigail Lynch, Bonnie Myers, Jesse P. Wong, Cindy Chu, Ralph W. Tingley, Jeffrey A. Falke, Thomas J. Kwak, Craig Paukert, Trevor J. KrabbenhoftA 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 climateAuthorsColin J. Dassow, Alex W. Latzka, Abigail Lynch, Greg G. Sass, Ralph W. Tingley, Craig PaukertWinter 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. InAuthorsTyler Michael Hessler, Duane Chapman, Craig Paukert, Jeff C. Jolley, Michael E. ByrneCo-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 andAuthorsCorey Garland Dunn, Michael J. Moore, Nicholas A. Sievert, Craig Paukert, Robert J. DiStefanoThe 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 surveysAuthorsAbigail Lynch, Nick Sievert, Holly Susan Embke, Ashley Robertson, Bonnie Jean Evaline Myers, M. S. Allen, Zach S. Feiner, Fritz Hoogakker, Scott Knoche, Rebecca Krogman, Stephen R. Midway, Chelsey L. Nieman, Craig Paukert, Kevin L. Pope, Mark W. Rogers, L. S. Wszola, T. Douglas BeardClimate 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 emAuthorsCraig Paukert, Julian D. Olden, Abigail Lynch, Dave Brashears, R. Christopher Chambers, Cindy Chu, Margaret Daly, Kimberly L. Dibble, Jeffrey A. Falke, Dan Issak, Peter C. Jacobson, Olaf P. Jensen, Daphne MunroeAccounting 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. WAuthorsCorey G. Dunn, Craig Paukert - Web Tools
Lake Class and Walleye Natural Resources Information
The goal of this tool is that users of the tool can use the information provided here to inform their decisions (or their advice to those with decision-making authority) about whether to Resist, Accept, or Direct in walleye fisheries in Wisconsin.
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