Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Micah Kieffer

Micah Kieffer is a Research Fishery Biologist at the USGS S.O. Conte Research Laboratory at Turners Falls, Massachusetts since 1991.

Micah Kieffer’s research activities have always focused on movements and ecology of wild New England sturgeons.  Of significance is his ongoing pursuit of sturgeon investigations that have been a part of the Conte AFRL mission since its opening in 1991.  Published results of these efforts continue to influence sturgeon management in the Connecticut River and Gulf of Maine, placing him in a unique position to guide new investigations and advise management concerns, particularly in light of significant recent changes to passage structures and water regulation on the Connecticut River.  Sturgeon conservation/protection support activities include advising state and federal management agencies, serving on managerial and information sharing teams, and providing routine sturgeon handling training for investigators working in the Northeast.  In addition to research pursuits, he is a leader in CAFRL water safety training, manages CAFRL research vessel fleet, and serves the local community as a public safety diver.  His MS degree was achieved in 1991 at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, identifying the status of shortnose sturgeon in the Merrimack River.  His BS degree in marine and environmental science was achieved at East Stroudsburg University in 1982.  Between degrees, he worked as a High Seas Fisheries Compliance Inspector/Foreign Fisheries Observer, deployed in the Gulf of Alaska/Bering Sea and North Atlantic Ocean on commercial fishing vessels from six nations. 

Professional Experience

  • Participant in Gulf of Maine-wide investigation of coastal movements of shortnose and Atlantic sturgeons.

  • Recent noteworthy achievements include the identification of annual coastal spawning migrations of shortnose sturgeon living in the Merrimack River and spawning in the Kennebec River and the identification of critical life history elements of the Atlantic sturgeon, recently listed as a federally protected species.

  • Leader in determining scope of sturgeon presence within the Piscataqua/Great Bay System of New Hampshire and Maine, and their interactions with the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and proposed dredging/construction activities.

  • Participant in the evaluation of migrant shortnose sturgeon lifted upstream of the Holyoke Dam through newly modified up- and downstream passage modifications.

  • Leader in the development of inter-agency investigations of shortnose sturgeon possibly inhabiting previously unknown Connecticut River reaches.

  • Co-investigator in proposed studies involving sturgeon ageing, population genetics, and eDNA. 

Education and Certifications

  • MS in Fisheries Biology - Uhniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

  • BS in Marine and Environmental Science - East Stroudsburg State University, East Stroudsburg, PA

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 13

Effects of plunge pool configuration on downstream passage survival of juvenile blueback herring

Anadromous alosines are widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Juveniles of this clade are notoriously fragile animals that are at high risk of injury and death associated with passage at hydroelectric facilities. Although turbine mortality is a common concern, conditions encountered when bypassed around these routes may also be hazardous. Downstream bypass structures typically discharge i
Authors
Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Kevin Mulligan, Micah Kieffer, Alexander Haro
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Movements of Atlantic Sturgeon of the Gulf of Maine inside and outside the geographically defined Distinct Population Segment

Identification of potential critical habitat, seasonal distributions, and movements within and between river systems is important for protecting the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic Sturgeon. To accomplish these objectives, we captured Atlantic Sturgeon in four GOM rivers (Penobscot, Kennebec system, Saco, and Merrimack), and tagged 144 (83.3–217.4 cm TL) internally wit
Authors
Gail S. Wippelhauser, James Sulikowski, Gayle B. Zydlewski, Megan Altenritter, Micah Kieffer, Michael T. Kinnison
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Life history and status of Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur, 1818)

Shortnose Sturgeon = SNS (Acipenser brevirostrum) is a small diadromous species with most populations living in large Atlantic coast rivers and estuaries of North America from New Brunswick, Canada, to GA, USA. There are no naturally landlocked populations, so all populations require access to fresh water and salt water to complete a natural life cycle. The species is amphidromous with use of fres
Authors
Boyd Kynard, Stephania Bolden, Micah Kieffer, Mark Collins, Hal Brundage, Eric Hilton, Mark Litvak, Michael T. Kinnison, Tim L. King, Douglas C. Peterson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Shortnose sturgeon in the Gulf of Maine: Use of spawning habitat in the Kennebec System and response to dam removal

Evidence has become available in this century indicating that populations of the endangered Shortnose Sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum migrate outside their natal river systems, but the full extent and functional basis of these migrations are not well understood. Between 2007 and 2013, 40 Shortnose Sturgeon captured and tagged in four Gulf of Maine river systems migrated long distances in coastal w
Authors
Gail S. Wippelhauser, Gayle B. Zydlewski, Micah Kieffer, James Sulikowski, Michael T. Kinnison
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

A nuclear DNA perspective on delineating evolutionarily significant lineages in polyploids: the case of the endangered shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)

The shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum, oft considered a phylogenetic relic, is listed as an “endangered species threatened with extinction” in the US and “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. Effective conservation of A. brevirostrum depends on understanding its diversity and evolutionary processes, yet challenges associated with the polyploid nature of its nuclear genome have heretofore lim
Authors
Tim L. King, Anne P. Henderson, Boyd E. Kynard, Micah C. Kieffer, Douglas L. Peterson, Aaron Aunins, Bonnie L. Brown
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

First documented occurrences of the shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in the Saco River, Maine, USA

During sampling efforts to study the more abundant Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus, between May of 2009 and November of 2011, four shortnose sturgeon were captured in gill nets near the mouth of the Saco River, Maine. Two of these individuals were tagged with acoustic transmitters to monitor their movement within the Saco River. Additionally, six shortnose sturgeon that had been
Authors
C.E. Little, M. Kieffer, G. Wippelhauser, G. Zydlewski, M. Kinnison, L. A. Whitefleet-Smith, J.A. Sulikowski
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Seasonal movements among river reaches, migration strategies, and population structure of the divided Connecticut River shortnose sturgeon population: the effects of Holyoke Dam

Even after 155 years, each population segment seasonally migrates toward the other attempting to maintain the natural connection. Migration timing and style of pre-spawning and post-spawning males and females is discussed, as is homing. The impact of Holyoke Dam on population size and growth is characterized and turbine mortality of adult sturgeon passing through a Kaplan turbine at the dam is est
Authors
Boyd Kynard, Micah Kieffer, Phil Vinogradov
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Using a semi-natural stream to produce young sturgeons for conservation stocking: Maintaining natural selection during spawning and rearing

Young sturgeons used for conservation stocking are presently produced using the same methods used for commercial culture. To determine if young sturgeons could be produced without relaxing natural selection factors, we developed a semi‐natural stream where we annually studied mating of wild shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) observed movement of gametes released freely during spawning, an
Authors
B. Kynard, D. Pugh, T. Parker, Micah Kieffer
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Life history and status of shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in the Potomac River

We collected the first life history information on shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in any of the rivers to Chesapeake Bay, the geographic center of the species range. In the Potomac River, two telemetry-tagged adult females used 124 km of river: a saltwater/freshwater reach at river km (rkm) 63-141 was the foraging-wintering concentration area, and one female migrated to spawn at rkm 1
Authors
Micah Kieffer
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Status of Shortnose Sturgeon in the Potomac River. Part 1: Field Studies

Field studies during more than 3 years (March 2004–July 2007) collected data on life history of Potomac River shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum to understand their biological status in the river. We sampled intensively for adults using gill nets, but captured only one adult in 2005. Another adult was captured in 2006 by a commercial fisher. Both fish were females with excellent body and fi
Authors
Boyd Kynard, Matthew Breece, Megan Atcheson, Micah Kieffer, Mike Mangold

Habitats used by shortnose sturgeon two Massachusetts rivers, with notes on estuarine Atlantic sturgeon: A hierarchical approach

Biotelemetry of shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum and Atlantic sturgeon A. oxyrinchus oxyrinchus was used to study fish uses of habitat in several hierarchical classes in the Connecticut and Merrimack rivers. Hierarchical classes were geomorphological region (straight river run, run with an island, and river curve), river cross section (channel or shoal), and microhabitat (water depth, bot
Authors
Boyd Kynard, Martin Horgan, Micah Kieffer
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Spawning of the shortnose sturgeon the Merrimack River, Massachusetts

No abstract available.
Authors
M.C. Kieffer, B. Kynard
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center
link
Shortnose sturgeon

Life History and Migration of Sturgeons in New England Waters

Sturgeons appear in the fossil record as early as the Triassic, 200 million years ago. Although most populations could once tolerate harvesting pressures, most populations have collapsed and nearly all of the 28 species alive today are listed as threatened or endangered. In New England, dams and water regulation challenge population recoveries of the two resident species, the shortnose and...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center
link

Life History and Migration of Sturgeons in New England Waters

Sturgeons appear in the fossil record as early as the Triassic, 200 million years ago. Although most populations could once tolerate harvesting pressures, most populations have collapsed and nearly all of the 28 species alive today are listed as threatened or endangered. In New England, dams and water regulation challenge population recoveries of the two resident species, the shortnose and...
Learn More
link
Alex Haro working with Atlantic sturgeon

Fish Behavior

Recent discoveries of the extent of sturgeon movement in the Gulf of Maine combined with relicensing and water use issues in the Connecticut River demand closer evaluation of shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon migration and behavior patterns.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center
link

Fish Behavior

Recent discoveries of the extent of sturgeon movement in the Gulf of Maine combined with relicensing and water use issues in the Connecticut River demand closer evaluation of shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon migration and behavior patterns.
Learn More
Man on a boat uses a scalpel to surgically implant radio tag in to the belly of a small sturgeon (approx. 18" long).
link

Science and Products