Wildhaber, M.L., and Neill, W.H., 1992, Activity and distribution of northern and Florida largemouth bass in a Texas impound: Journal of Freshwater Ecology, v. 7, no. 3, p. 293-302
Mark Wildhaber, Ph.D.
Biography
Mark has worked at USGS, Columbia Environment Research Cener since 1991. His major responsibilities include research in all areas of aquatic ecology, fish biology, behavioral ecology, ecological modeling, and climate change in understanding for and support of conservation and recovery efforts. His expertise includes: at-risk, threatened, and endangered fishes, reproductive ecology, bioenergetics and population, community, and ecosystem modeling and forecasting, population monitoring and experiment designs, and Bayesian and non-Bayesian approaches to analyzing fisheries data. Mark's research includes reproductive behavior and physiology and abiotic and biotic requirements for reproductive success of commercially valuable and/or federally-listed as threatened or endangered fishes; effects of heavy metals and acidic contamination on riverine ecosystems; effects of water management on the benthic fish community of riverine ecosystems; effects of organic and inorganic contamination on aquatic benthic invertebrate communities; and spatial and temporal hierarchical fish population modeling using spatially-explicit individual-based models that incorporate bioenergetics, foraging theory, and other models of habitat choice under varying environmental conditions in the context of global climate to guide conservation and recovery efforts.
Education
Ph.D. Zoology and Biomathematics, Southeast Missouri State University 1989
M.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Science, Southeast Missouri State University 1985
B.S. Zoology and Mathematics, Minor in Chemistry, Southeast Missouri State University 1981
Professional Experience
1997-present Research Ecologist/Quantitative Ecology Section Leader, USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center
1991-1997 Statistician, USFWS/NBS National Fisheries Contaminant Research Center
1989-1991Research Associate and Tutor, Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University
1983-1989 Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University
1981-1983 Teaching Assistant, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Texas A&M University
1979 Laboratory Assistant, Department of Biology, Southeast Missouri State University
Affiliations
2017-presesent, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Sturgeon Specialty Group Commission Member
2009-present Member, World Sturgeon Conservation Society
2002-present Fellow, American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists
1993-present Member, North Central Division of the American Fisheries Society
1993-1994 Continuing Education Coordinator, North Central Division of the American Fisheries Society
1993-present Member, Missouri Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
1993-1995 Continuing Education Coordinator, Missouri Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
1990-present Member, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
1988-present Member, Animal Behavior Society
2004-present Member, Conservation Committee, Animal Behavior Society
1984-present, Member, American Fisheries Society
1994-1995 Member Publications Award Committee, American Fisheries Society
1994-1998 Associate Editor, The Progressive Fish Culturist, American Fisheries Society
Science and Products
Date published: January 1, 2009
Status: Completed Projecting Future Impacts to River Systems and Large River Fish: Missouri River Sturgeon Example
In collaboration with the University of Missouri and Iowa State University, this project advanced efforts to understand and accommodate uncertainty by applying to Missouri River sturgeon population dynamics the tools of multi-scale climate models and hierarchical Bayesian modeling frameworks, linking models for system components together by formal rules of probability. While a complete climate...
Contacts: Mark Wildhaber, Ph.D.
Attribution: Climate Adaptation Science Centers
Date published: January 29, 2021
Brecchia pipe uranium mine bird survey data, Grand Canyon region, 2014-2015
Containment ponds at uranium mines in the Grand Canyon region have been suspected to pose an attractive nuisance to local wildlife in this arid landscape. To determine the presence of bird species at uranium mine openings, we surveyed the bird community in the area surrounding the mines repeatedly within one year and summarized species occurrence.
Attribution: Contaminant Biology, Columbia Environmental Research Center
Date published: August 10, 2020
Mammalian biodiversity data for four bottomland hardwood restoration sites in Northeastern Indiana USA May 2015-August 2016
Mammalian biodiversity data for four bottomland hardwood restoration sites in northeastern Indiana utilizing various sampling methods and level of effort
Attribution: Columbia Environmental Research Center
Year Published: 2021
Effectiveness of a distance sampling from roads program for white-tailed deer in the National Capital Region parks
We evaluated the effectiveness of a distance sampling from roads program for estimating population sizes of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 2001 to 2015 in parks of the National Capital Region (NCR), National Parks Service. Distance sampling is a method for estimating the density of organisms using a distribution of distances to...
Green, Nicholas S.; Wildhaber, Mark L.; Albers, Janice L.
Year Published: 2019
Potential responses of the Lower Missouri River Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) population to a commercial fishing ban
We developed an age‐structured population matrix model to perform population viability analysis for Lower Missouri River (LMR) shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus). We investigated potential effects of the commercial fishing moratorium put in place to help protect the similar‐appearing pallid sturgeon (S. albus). The model applies...
Green, Nicholas S.; Wildhaber, Mark L.; Albers, Janice L.View Citation
Green, N.S., Wildhaber, M.L., and Albers, J.L., 2018, Potential responses of the Lower Missouri River Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) population to a commercial fishing ban, Journal of Applied Ichthyology, Online First, 20 May 2018
Year Published: 2018
Population viability analyses for three Macrhybopsis spp. of the Lower Missouri River
Recent declines in three species of chubs that inhabit the lower Missouri River (shoal chub M. hyostoma, sicklefin chub M. meeki and sturgeon chub M. gelida) have become a concern in the management of their own populations and the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) that feeds on them. These chub populations...
Albers, Janice L.; Wildhaber, Mark L.; Green, Nicholas S.
Year Published: 2018
Use of real-time dust monitoring and surface condition to evaluate success of unpaved road treatments
No abstract available.
Kunz, Bethany K.; Green, Nicholas S.; Albers, Janice L.; Wildhaber, Mark L.; Little, Edward E.Attribution: Environmental Health, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Ecosystems, , Contaminant Biology, , Region 4: Mississippi Basin, United States of America
View Citation
Kunz, B., Green, N., Albers, J., Wildhaber, M., and Little, E., 2018, Use of Real-Time Dust Monitoring and Surface Condition to Evaluate Success of Unpaved Road Treatments, in Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, 97th, Washington, DC. Transportation Research Board, p. 18-06624
Year Published: 2018
Use of real-time dust monitoring and surface condition to evaluate success of unpaved road treatments
Fugitive dust from unpaved roads creates human health hazards, degrades road surfaces, and increases the cost of road maintenance. As a result, many different chemical treatments are applied to unpaved roads in an attempt to control dust and stabilize the wearing course. However, investigations of the effectiveness of these treatments have often...
Kunz, Bethany K.; Green, Nicholas S.; Albers, Janice L.; Wildhaber, Mark L.; Little, Edward E.
Year Published: 2017
Reproductive strategy, spawning induction, spawning temperatures and early life history of captive sicklefin chub Macrhybopsis meeki
Macrhybopsis reproduction and propagule traits were studied in the laboratory using two temperature regimes and three hormone treatments to determine which methods produced the most spawns. Only sicklefin chub Macrhybopsis meeki spawned successfully although sturgeon chub Macrhybopsis gelida released unfertilized eggs. All temperature and hormone...
Albers, Janice L.; Wildhaber, Mark L.View Citation
Albers, J.L. and Wildhaber, M.L., 2017, Reproductive strategy, spawning induction, spawning temperatures and early life history of captive sicklefin chub Macrhybopsis meeki, Journal of Fish Biology, Early View Edition, June 2017
Year Published: 2017
Hierarchical stochastic modeling of large river ecosystems and fish growth across spatio-temporal scales and climate models: the Missouri River endangered pallid sturgeon example
We present a hierarchical series of spatially decreasing and temporally increasing models to evaluate the uncertainty in the atmosphere – ocean global climate model (AOGCM) and the regional climate model (RCM) relative to the uncertainty in the somatic growth of the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus). For effects on fish...
Wildhaber, Mark L.; Wikle, Christopher K.; Moran, Edward H.; Anderson, Christopher J.; Franz, Kristie J.; Dey, RimaView Citation
Wildhaber, M.L., Wikle, C.K., Moran, E.H., Anderson, C.J., Franz, K.J., and Dey, R. 2017, Hierarchical stochastic modeling of large river ecosystems and fish growth across spatio-temporal scales and climate models: Missouri River sturgeon example, In Riddick, A. T., Kessler, H., and Giles, J. R. A. (eds) Integrated Environmental Modelling to Solve Real World Problems: Methods, Vision and Challenges. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 408
Year Published: 2017
A fully-stochasticized, age-structured population model for population viability analysis of fish: Lower Missouri River endangered pallid sturgeon example
We develop a fully-stochasticized, age-structured population model suitable for population viability analysis (PVA) of fish and demonstrate its use with the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) of the Lower Missouri River as an example. The model incorporates three levels of variance: parameter variance (uncertainty about the value of...
Wildhaber, Mark L.; Albers, Janice L.; Green, Nicholas; Moran, Edward H.View Citation
Wildhaber, M.L., Albers, J.L., Green, N.S., and Moran, E.H., 2015, A fully-stochasticized, age-structured population model for population viability analysis of fish: Lower Missouri River endangered pallid sturgeon example: Ecological Modelling, Online First Edition, Ausgust 2015
Year Published: 2016
Was everything bigger in Texas? Characterization and trends of a land-based recreational shark fishery
Although current assessments of shark population trends involve both fishery-independent and fishery-dependent data, the latter are generally limited to commercial landings that may neglect nearshore coastal habitats. Texas has supported the longest organized land-based recreational shark fishery in the United States, yet no studies have used this...
Ajemian, Matthew J.; Jose, Philip D.; Froeschke, John T.; Wildhaber, Mark L.; Stunz, Gregory W.
Year Published: 2016
Visual Basic, Excel-based fish population modeling tool - The pallid sturgeon example
The model presented in this report is a spreadsheet-based model using Visual Basic for Applications within Microsoft Excel (http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7057D0Z) prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It uses the same model structure and, initially, parameters as used by Wildhaber and others...
Moran, Edward H.; Wildhaber, Mark L.; Green, Nicholas S.; Albers, Janice L.View Citation
Moran, E.H., Wildhaber, M.L., Green, N.S., and Albers, J.L., 2016, Visual basic, Excel-based fish population modeling tool—The pallid sturgeon example: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016–1009, 20 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161009.
Year Published: 2016
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River—Annual report 2013
The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project is a multiyear, multiagency collaborative research framework developed to provide information to support pallid sturgeon recovery and Missouri River management decisions. The project strategy integrates field and laboratory studies of pallid sturgeon reproductive ecology, early life history, habitat...
Delonay, Aaron J.; Jacobson, Robert B.; Chojnacki, Kimberly A.; Braaten, Patrick J.; Buhl, Kevin J.; Eder, Brandon L; Elliott, Caroline M.; Erwin, Susannah O.; Fuller, David B.; Haddix, Tyler M.; Ladd, Hallie L.A.; Mestl, Gerald E.; Papoulias, Diana M.; Rhoten, Jason C.; Wesolek, Christopher J.; Wildhaber, Mark L.View Citation
DeLonay, A.J., Jacobson, R.B., Chojnacki, K.A., Braaten, P.J., Buhl, K.J., Eder, B.L., Elliott, C.M., Erwin, S.O., Fuller,
D.B., Haddix, T.M., Ladd, H.L.A., Mestl, G.E., Papoulias, D.M., Rhoten, J.C., Wesolek, C.J., and Wildhaber, M.L., 2016,
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River—Annual report 2013:
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015–1197, 99 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151197.
Year Published: 2016
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River—A synthesis of science, 2005 to 2012
This report is intended to synthesize the state of the scientific understanding of pallid sturgeon ecological requirements to provide recommendations for future science directions and context for Missouri River restoration and management decisions. Recruitment of pallid sturgeon has been low to non-existent throughout its range. Emerging...
Delonay, Aaron J.; Chojnacki, Kimberly A.; Jacobson, Robert B.; Albers, Janice L.; Braaten, Patrick J.; Bulliner, Edward A.; Elliott, Caroline M.; Erwin, Susannah O.; Fuller, David B; Haas, Justin D.; Ladd, Hallie L.A.; Mestl, Gerald E.; Papoulias, Diana M.; Wildhaber, Mark L.View Citation
DeLonay, A.J., Chojnacki, K.A., Jacobson, R.B., Albers, J.L., Braaten, P.J., Bulliner, E.A., Elliott, C.M., Erwin, S.O., Fuller, D.B., Haas, J.D., Ladd, H.L.A., Mestl, G.E., Papoulias, D.M., and Wildhaber, M.L., 2016, Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River—A synthesis of science, 2005 to 2012: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5145, 224 p. with appendixes, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20155145.
Pre-USGS Publications
Wildhaber, M.L., and Crowder, L.B., 1991, Mechanisms of patch choice by bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) foraging in a variable environment: Copeia, v. 1991, no. 2, p. 445-460
Wildhaber, M.L., Green, R.F., and Crowder, L.B., 1994, Bluegills continuously update patch giving-up times based on foraging experience: Animal Behaviour, v. 47, no. 3, p. 501-513.
W. Westerman, P., M. Losordo, T., and L. Wildhaber, M., 1996, Evaluation of Various Biofilters in an Intensive Recirculating Fish Production Facility: Transactions of the ASAE, v. 39, no. 2, p. 723-727.