Mapleleaf mussel, Quadrula quadrula, collected from the Great Lakes region of Canada.
Heather Galbraith (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Mapping riverine habitats of the Delaware River using bathymetric LiDAR
Ecosystem management and assessment of rivers requires detailed data on bathymetry before estimates of aquatic habitats can be determined. However, mapping bathymetry in shallow rivers is challenging due to river depth limitations for watercraft.
Developing and testing eDNA markers for the Federally endangered dwarf wedgemussel, Alasmidonta heterodon and other key freshwater mussel species
Dwarf wedgemussel is a federally endangered freshwater mussel with a historic range spanning the Atlantic coast. However, populations have dramatically declines over the last 30 years. Therefore, knowledge of current population distribution and abundance is critical to resource managers in order to monitor the species over time and to guide recovery actions. Manual survey efforts (snorkel or scuba...
Ecological flow needs of freshwater mussels
Streamflow characteristics are rapidly changing in response to climate variability, water management practices, and a variety of other human water demands. Alterations in water quantity can have direct impacts on aquatic organisms (e.g., stranding, displacement, disruption of spawning), and can be especially detrimental to organisms with limited mobility. Freshwater mussels are one such group of...
Improving ecological flow science in the mainstem Delaware through WaterSMART
Demand for freshwater is increasing with human population growth and is exacerbated by water management practices, climate variability, and land use alternation. Ecological flow science attempts to understand flows necessary to support aquatic organisms so that managers can balance these with diverse human water demands. A primary focus of the USGS Northern Appalachian Research Laboratory (NARL)...
Assessing the effects of chloride exposure on aquatic organisms
Increased salinization of freshwater systems is a growing concern, and can be attributed to a variety of factors including climate change, land-use change, agricultural practices, road de-icing, and brines released from fossil fuel extraction. Effects of increased salinization on aquatic organisms is little understood and may be vastly different among species and among different life stages.
Development of fine-scale temperature models in the Delaware River: Application to predictive temperature modeling, decision support tools, and ecosystem services
Temperature is a primary driver of biological and ecological processes, and in rivers and streams influences distribution, reproduction, and behavior of aquatic species. USGS Northern Appalachian Laboratory (NARL) researchers are working with resource managers in the Delaware River Basin and collaborators at USGS Fort Collins Science Center to predict and model riverine temperature, particularly...
Mapleleaf Mussel
Mapleleaf mussel, Quadrula quadrula, collected from the Great Lakes region of Canada.
Science and Products
Mapping riverine habitats of the Delaware River using bathymetric LiDAR
Ecosystem management and assessment of rivers requires detailed data on bathymetry before estimates of aquatic habitats can be determined. However, mapping bathymetry in shallow rivers is challenging due to river depth limitations for watercraft.
Developing and testing eDNA markers for the Federally endangered dwarf wedgemussel, Alasmidonta heterodon and other key freshwater mussel species
Dwarf wedgemussel is a federally endangered freshwater mussel with a historic range spanning the Atlantic coast. However, populations have dramatically declines over the last 30 years. Therefore, knowledge of current population distribution and abundance is critical to resource managers in order to monitor the species over time and to guide recovery actions. Manual survey efforts (snorkel or scuba...
Ecological flow needs of freshwater mussels
Streamflow characteristics are rapidly changing in response to climate variability, water management practices, and a variety of other human water demands. Alterations in water quantity can have direct impacts on aquatic organisms (e.g., stranding, displacement, disruption of spawning), and can be especially detrimental to organisms with limited mobility. Freshwater mussels are one such group of...
Improving ecological flow science in the mainstem Delaware through WaterSMART
Demand for freshwater is increasing with human population growth and is exacerbated by water management practices, climate variability, and land use alternation. Ecological flow science attempts to understand flows necessary to support aquatic organisms so that managers can balance these with diverse human water demands. A primary focus of the USGS Northern Appalachian Research Laboratory (NARL)...
Assessing the effects of chloride exposure on aquatic organisms
Increased salinization of freshwater systems is a growing concern, and can be attributed to a variety of factors including climate change, land-use change, agricultural practices, road de-icing, and brines released from fossil fuel extraction. Effects of increased salinization on aquatic organisms is little understood and may be vastly different among species and among different life stages.
Development of fine-scale temperature models in the Delaware River: Application to predictive temperature modeling, decision support tools, and ecosystem services
Temperature is a primary driver of biological and ecological processes, and in rivers and streams influences distribution, reproduction, and behavior of aquatic species. USGS Northern Appalachian Laboratory (NARL) researchers are working with resource managers in the Delaware River Basin and collaborators at USGS Fort Collins Science Center to predict and model riverine temperature, particularly...
Mapleleaf Mussel
Mapleleaf mussel, Quadrula quadrula, collected from the Great Lakes region of Canada.
Mapleleaf mussel, Quadrula quadrula, collected from the Great Lakes region of Canada.