Jeff's research focuses on the transport of and biological response to nutrients, primarily in the Midwest. Recently the focus has been on edge-of-field studies and Supergages to better understand transport of nutrients. A focus recently has been building water quality and streamgage networks through collaborations with key groups like the Indiana Water Monitoring Council, Indiana Silver Jackets,
He began working with the USGS after graduate school in Indiana 1992 with the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program and has held several positions since then including overseeing the White River - Miami River NAWQA study unit and coordinating the Midwest Stream Quality Assessment in collaboration with the USEPA and NAWQA in 2013. Currently, he is the Director of the USGS Indiana-Kentucky Water Science Center in Indianapolis.
Professional Experience
1986-1988 - Worked with Peace Corps in Cameroon teaching inland fisheries
1990 - Observer with the National Marine Fisheries Service off of Alaska
1992 - White River Study Unit, National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program
2001 - White River - Miami River NAWQA Study Unit Chief
2014 - Associate Director, Indiana-Kentucky WSC
2018 - Associate Director - Indiana - Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana WSC (OKI WSC)
2023 - Director, OKI WSC
Education and Certifications
B.S. from the University of Minnesota in Environmental Studies in 1986
M.S. from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs in 1992
Science and Products
Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations in the Maumee River and tributaries during 2019 rain-induced fallow conditions
Delineation of tile-drain networks using thermal and multispectral imagery—Implications for water quantity and quality differences from paired edge-of-field sites
Understanding the influence of nutrients on stream ecosystems in agricultural landscapes
Relative importance of water-quality stressors in predicting fish community responses in midwestern streams
Design and methods of the Midwest Stream Quality Assessment (MSQA), 2013
High nitrate concentrations in some Midwest United States streams in 2013 after the 2012 drought
Stream sediment sources in midwest agricultural basins with land retirement along channel
Identifying nutrient reference sites in nutrient-enriched regions-Using algal, invertebrate, and fish-community measures to identify stressor-breakpoint thresholds in Indiana rivers and streams, 2005-9
The Midwest Stream Quality Assessment
USGS library for S-PLUS for Windows -- Release 4.0
Assessment of nutrient enrichment by use of algal-, invertebrate-, and fish-community attributes in wadeable streams in ecoregions surrounding the Great Lakes
Breakpoint analysis and assessment of selected stressor variables on benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities in Indiana streams: Implications for developing nutrient criteria
Environmental Effects of Agricultural Practices
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Collaboration Partners
Ecological Monitoring
Biological Response to Nutrients
Transport and Fate of Nutrients
Geospatial database of the study boundary, sampled sites, watersheds, and riparian zones developed for Midwest Stream Quality Assessment
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 28
Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations in the Maumee River and tributaries during 2019 rain-induced fallow conditions
Above average precipitation from October 2018 through July 2019 in the Maumee River (R.) Basin resulted in 29% of cropland left fallow, providing a glimpse of potential effects from decreased nutrient application. Ongoing monitoring at 15 water-quality sites on the Maumee R. upstream from Defiance enabled comparison with 2017, which was hydrologically similar to 2019 in precipitation and streamfloAuthorsTanja N. Williamson, Kimberly Shaffer, Donna L. Runkle, Matthew John Hardebeck, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Jeffrey W. Frey, Nancy T. Baker, Katie Marie Collier, Carrie A. Huitger, Stephanie P. Kula, Ralph Haefner, Lisa M Hartley, Hunter Frederick Crates, J. Jeremy Webber, Dennis P. Finnegan, Nicholas J. Reithel, Chad Toussant, Thomas L. WeaverDelineation of tile-drain networks using thermal and multispectral imagery—Implications for water quantity and quality differences from paired edge-of-field sites
As part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, paired edge-of-field sites were established in high priority subwatersheds to assess the effectiveness of agricultural management practices. One pairing was in Black Creek, a tributary to the Maumee River and Lake Erie. These fields were paired because of similarity in soils, topography, and agricultural management. Following two years of baselineAuthorsTanja N. Williamson, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Shawn M. Meyer, Jeffrey W. Frey, Barry J. AllredUnderstanding the influence of nutrients on stream ecosystems in agricultural landscapes
Sustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term economic,AuthorsMark D. Munn, Jeffrey W. Frey, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Robert W. Black, John H. Duff, Kathy Lee, Terry R. Maret, Christopher A. Mebane, Ian R. Waite, Ronald B. ZeltRelative importance of water-quality stressors in predicting fish community responses in midwestern streams
Fish, habitat, and water chemistry data were collected from 98 streams in the midwestern United States, an area dominated by intense cultivation of row crops, in order to identify important water‐quality stressors to fish communities. We focused on 10 stressors including riparian disturbance, riparian vegetative cover, instream fish cover, streambed sedimentation, streamflow variability, total nitAuthorsMichael R. Meador, Jeffrey W. FreyDesign and methods of the Midwest Stream Quality Assessment (MSQA), 2013
During 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA), in collaboration with the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA), and the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs assessed stream quality across the Midwestern United States. This Midwest Stream Quality AssessmAuthorsJessica D. Garrett, Jeffrey W. Frey, Peter C. Van Metre, Celeste A. Journey, Naomi Nakagaki, Daniel T. Button, Lisa H. NowellHigh nitrate concentrations in some Midwest United States streams in 2013 after the 2012 drought
Nitrogen sources in the Mississippi River basin have been linked to degradation of stream ecology and to Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. In 2013, the USGS and the USEPA characterized water quality stressors and ecological conditions in 100 wadeable streams across the midwestern United States. Wet conditions in 2013 followed a severe drought in 2012, a weather pattern associated with elevated nitrogen concAuthorsPeter C. Van Metre, Jeffrey W. Frey, MaryLynn Musgrove, Naomi Nakagaki, Sharon L. Qi, Barbara Mahler, Michael E. Wieczorek, Daniel T. ButtonStream sediment sources in midwest agricultural basins with land retirement along channel
Documenting the effects of agricultural land retirement on stream-sediment sources is critical to identifying management practices that improve water quality and aquatic habitat. Particularly difficult to quantify are the effects from conservation easements that commonly are discontinuous along channelized streams and ditches throughout the agricultural midwestern United States. Our hypotheses werAuthorsTanja N. Williamson, Victoria G. Christensen, William B. Richardson, Jeffrey W. Frey, Allen C. Gellis, K. A. Kieta, Faith A. FitzpatrickIdentifying nutrient reference sites in nutrient-enriched regions-Using algal, invertebrate, and fish-community measures to identify stressor-breakpoint thresholds in Indiana rivers and streams, 2005-9
Excess nutrients in aquatic ecosystems can lead to shifts in species composition, reduced dissolved oxygen concentrations, fish kills, and toxic algal blooms. In this study, nutrients, periphyton chlorophyll a (CHLa), and invertebrate- and fishcommunity data collected during 2005-9 were analyzed from 318 sites on Indiana rivers and streams. The objective of this study was to determine which invertAuthorsBrian J. Caskey, Aubrey R. Bunch, Megan E. Shoda, Jeffrey W. Frey, Shivi Selvaratnam, Robert J. MiltnerThe Midwest Stream Quality Assessment
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) and USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) will be collaborating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA) to assess stream quality across the Midwestern United States. The sites selected for this study are a subset of the larger NRSA, impAuthorsPeter C. Van Metre, Jeffrey W. Frey, Ellen TarquinioUSGS library for S-PLUS for Windows -- Release 4.0
Release 4.0 of the U.S. Geological Survey S-PLUS library supercedes release 2.1. It comprises functions, dialogs, and datasets used in the U.S. Geological Survey for the analysis of water-resources data. This version does not contain ESTREND, which was in version 2.1. See Release 2.1 for information and access to that version. This library requires Release 8.1 or later of S-PLUS for Windows. S-PLAuthorsDavid L. Lorenz, Elizabeth A. Ahearn, Janet M. Carter, Timothy A. Cohn, Wendy J. Danchuk, Jeffrey W. Frey, Dennis R. Helsel, Kathy Lee, David C. Leeth, Jeffrey D. Martin, Virginia L. McGuire, Kathleen M. Neitzert, Dale M. Robertson, James R. Slack, J. Jeffrey Starn, Aldo V. Vecchia, Donald H. Wilkison, Joyce E. WilliamsonAssessment of nutrient enrichment by use of algal-, invertebrate-, and fish-community attributes in wadeable streams in ecoregions surrounding the Great Lakes
The algal, invertebrate, and fish taxa and community attributes that best reflect the effects of nutrients along a gradient of low to high nutrient concentrations in wadeable, primarily midwestern streams were determined as part of the U.S. Geological Suvey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Nutrient data collected from 64 sampling sites that reflected reference, agricultural, anAuthorsJeffrey W. Frey, Amanda H. Bell, Julie A. Hambrook Berkman, David L. LorenzBreakpoint analysis and assessment of selected stressor variables on benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities in Indiana streams: Implications for developing nutrient criteria
Water chemistry, periphyton and seston chlorophyll a (CHLa), and biological community data were collected from 321 sites from 2001 through 2005 to (1) determine statistically and ecologically significant relations among the stressor (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, periphyton and seston CHLa, and turbidity) variables and response (biological community) variables; and, (2) determine the breakpoinAuthorsBrian J. Caskey, Jeffrey W. Frey, Shivi Selvaratnam - Science
Environmental Effects of Agricultural Practices
As agricultural land in the Minnesota River Basin is retired, tile drains are removed or broken and riparian corridors are planted to reduce runoff. Early studies saw decreased sediment and nitrogen and improved biological indicators but no significant changes in phosphorus. This project continues to investigate the linkages between riparian buffer extent, age, and continuity; stream water; and...Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Collaboration Partners
One of the strongest ways to ensure that science is done effectively and efficiently in the midst of ever decreasing budgets is to collaborate.Ecological Monitoring
Scientists research biology, botany, microbiology, habitat, climate, water quality, and other fields to achieve a comprehensive view of ecosystems and their health. Ecosystems can be easily stressed by human activities, climate change, sediment, nutrients, contaminants, and many other variables. Ecosystem monitoring is critical to ecosystem health and answers important questions about the...Biological Response to Nutrients
Eutrophication, or excess nutrients in streams, is typically one of the top reasons that a stream is listed as impaired on the 303(d) list as part of the Clean Water Act.Transport and Fate of Nutrients
Eutrophication, or excess nutrients in streams, is typically one of the top reasons that a stream is listed as impaired on the 303(d) list as part of the Clean Water Act. How nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, are transported to streams and groundwater greatly affects the best management plan to keep them on fields and out of streams and groundwater. Likewise, environmental managers and... - Data
Geospatial database of the study boundary, sampled sites, watersheds, and riparian zones developed for Midwest Stream Quality Assessment
The Midwest Stream Quality Assessment is the first of several regional studies that are being conducted as part of the Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) project, a component of the Cycle 3 National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project. The MSQA was a collaborative study amongst NAWQA, the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC), and the USEPA National Rivers and Streams Asse - News