Hitt, N.P. and M. Hendryx. 2010. Ecological integrity of streams linked to human cancer mortality rates. EcoHealth 7:91-104.
Nathaniel Hitt, PhD
Biography
Dr. Nathaniel (Than) P. Hitt is a Research Fish Biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Leetown Science Center in Kearneysville, West Virginia. He holds a B.A. in Biology from the College of Wooster, an M.S. in Organismal Biology and Ecology from the University of Montana, and a Ph.D. in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences from Virginia Tech. Dr. Hitt’s research investigates freshwater fish ecology and community ecotoxicology from a landscape perspective, focusing on stream ecosystems in the Appalachian highlands. His research includes:
- Modeling fish habitat and population/community responses to environmental change
- Forecasting effects of climate change for fish habitat in headwater streams
- Effects of stream flow and temperature on fish communities population dynamics
Education
- 2007Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
- 2002M.S., University of Montana, Missoula, MT, Division of Biological Sciences, Organismal Biology and Ecology
- 1996B.A., The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH Biology, Honors
Professional Experience
- 2009-presentResearch Fish Biologist, US Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center
- 2018-presentAdjunct Associate Professor, Natural Resource Ecology & Management, Oklahoma State University
- 2015-presentAdjunct Associate Professor, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University
- 2008-2009Postdoctoral Researcher, US Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center
- 2007-2008Postdoctoral Researcher, Virginia Tech, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
- 2002-2007Graduate Research Assistant, Virginia Tech, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
- 1999-2002Graduate Research Assistant, University of Montana, Division of Biological Sciences
Links to media coverage in The Washington Post, The Washington Post, McClatchy News, Herald-Mail, Discovery News, EarthSky.org, Shepherdstown Chronicle, and National Geographic News Watch
Link to Google Scholar profile
Watch a presentation on "brook trout and climate change from genes to landscapes" (AFS New York Chapter plenary 2020)
Link to Project eTrout: crowdsourcing trout ecology data with virtual reality. See a demo 360-video here.
Visit a webmap of future brook trout habitat in Catoctin Mountain Park, and see the underlying methods (2018).
Watch a National Park Service webinar "forecasting fish habitat responses to climate change: importance of groundwater-surface water interactions" (2018)
Visit a webmap of stream-groundwater modeling results in Shenandoah National Park (2017).
Read an article announcing the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2017).
Watch a timelapse video of stream flow in Catoctin Mountain Park over a year (2016).
Watch a video of brook trout feeding in the LSC Experimental Stream Laboratory.
Watch a video introducing the LSC Experimental Stream Laboratory.
Watch a presentation on the importance of stream network topology for brook trout recruitment in 2016.
Watch a presentation entitled "spatial structure of stream thermal sensitivity affects climate change forecasts for brook trout" given at James Madison University in 2013.
Hear a radio segment on my work investigating brook trout responses to climate change.
Download a final report to USFWS on Kentucky arrow darter and blackside dace relations to stream conductivity.
Download a pdf of slides presented to USFWS, OSM, and TDEC regarding conductivity thresholds for abundance of imperiled stream fishes (June 9, 2015).
Watch a video citing our research on American eel responses to dam removal.
New York Times quote of the day (June 21, 2015).
Science and Products
Date published: May 7, 2020
Status: Active Enabling AI for citizen science in fish biology
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing ecology and conservation by enabling species recognition from photos and videos. Our project evaluates the capacity to expand AI for individual fish recognition for population assessment. The success of this effort would facilitate fisheries analysis at an unprecedented scale by engaging anglers and citizen scientists in imagery collection. This...
Date published: April 2, 2020
Status: Active Changing Freshwater Flows Affect Fish Populations in the Potomac River
Issue: Millions of people rely on the Potomac River for drinking water and recreational opportunities. The Potomac is Maryland’s most popular freshwater fishing destination, and the second largest river that enters the Chesapeake Bay. Restoring fisheries is also an important goal for the Chesapeake Bay Partnership restoration efforts.
Contacts: Nathaniel Hitt, PhD, Josh Henesy, John Mullican
Attribution: Core Science Systems, Chesapeake Bay Activities
Date published: May 16, 2019
Status: Active Assessing native fish restoration potential in Catoctin Mountain Park
Native species conservation is a fundamental purpose of National Parks. Catoctin Mountain Park (CATO) in Maryland supports a prized trout fishery and a healthy community of native fishes, with one exception: native Blue Ridge Sculpin (Cottus caeruleomentum) appear to have been extirpated from Big Hunting Creek above Cunningham Falls. Infection by a fungal-like protist ...
Contacts: Nathaniel Hitt, PhD
Date published: May 15, 2019
Status: Active Project eTrout—Linking Research and Education with Virtual Reality
In the Chesapeake Bay headwaters, native brook trout are economically and culturally important and require high-quality, cold-water habitats. Project eTrout, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), explores the use of crowdsourcing and virtual reality (VR) to estimate the...
Contacts: Nathaniel Hitt, PhD, Scott Phillips
Attribution: Chesapeake Bay Activities, Leetown Science Center
Date published: April 23, 2019
Status: Active Brook trout vulnerability to drought: eastern component of USGS national integrated ecohydrological research and monitoring plans
There is a growing and urgent need to develop and implement innovative strategies to research, monitor, and manage freshwater resources as societal demands escalate simultaneously with climate-driven changes in water availability. Over the past several years, many regions have experienced extreme droughts, fueled by prolonged periods of reduced precipitation and exceptionally warm temperatures...
Date published: April 16, 2019
Status: Active A hydrological framework to improve precision of Vital Signs metrics in the Appalachian highlands
Stream flow is a fundamental driver of ecological structure and function, but its influence on bioassessment measures is poorly understood. Although extreme flow conditions (e.g., floods and droughts) have long been known to play a central role in structuring stream communities, a mechanistic understanding of the linkages between flow variables, landscape and local physical characteristics,...
Date published: December 10, 2018
Status: Active Project eTrout
Welcome to Project eTrout [instructional video]!
Click here to begin.
Click here for a summary of results.
Virtual reality (VR)...
Contacts: Nathaniel Hitt, PhD
Attribution: Leetown Science Center
Date published: June 2, 2014
Status: Completed USGS Expands Studies of Brook Trout
The USGS has established an experimental stream lab in the Leetown Science Center.
Contacts: Nathaniel Hitt, PhD
Date published: January 1, 2012
Status: Completed Bringing People, Data, and Models Together – Addressing Impacts of Climate Change on Stream Temperature
This study set out to answer the question: “What data and modeling frameworks are needed to provide scientists reliable, climate-informed, water temperature estimates for freshwater ecosystems that can assist watershed management decision making?” To accomplish this, the study gathered existing stream temperature data, identified data gaps, deployed stream temperature monitoring devices, and...
Contacts: Nathaniel Hitt, PhD
Attribution: Climate Adaptation Science Centers
Year Published: 2020
Spatial and temporal trends in Potomac River fish abundance linked to species traits
Analysis of species abundance trends can inform an understanding of the underlying mechanisms. We evaluated spatial and temporal trends in fish species abundance in the non-tidal Potomac River (USA) from a dataset comprising 2841 seine-hauls with > 250,000 individual fish records across 10 sites and 43 years (1975-2017). The dataset contained...
Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Rogers, Karli; Kelly, Zachary; Henesy, Josh; Mullican, John E.
Year Published: 2019
Distribution and status of trout and char in North America
No abstract available.
Budy, Phaedra; Rogers, Kevin B.; Kanno, Yoichiro; Penaluna, Brooke E; Hitt, Nathaniel; Thiede, Gary P.; Dunham, Jason; Mellison, Chad; Somer, William; DeRito, JamesAttribution: Cooperative Research Units
Year Published: 2019
Individual behaviour and resource use of thermally stressed brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis portend the conservation potential of thermal refugia
Individual aggression and thermal refuge use were monitored in brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis in a controlled laboratory to determine how fish size and personality influence time spent in forage and thermal habitat patches during periods of thermal stress. On average, larger and more exploratory fish initiated more aggressive...
White, Shannon L.; Kline, B.C.; Hitt, Nathaniel; Wagner, Tyler
Year Published: 2019
An integrated framework for ecological drought across riverscapes of North America
Climate change is increasing the severity and extent of extreme droughts events, posing a critical threat to freshwater ecosystems, particularly with increasing human demands for diminishing water supplies. Despite the importance of drought as a significant driver of ecological and evolutionary dynamics, current understanding of drought...
Kovach, Ryan; Dunham, Jason B.; Al-Chokhachy, Robert; Snyder, Craig; Beever, Erik A.; Pederson, Gregory T.; Lynch, Abigail; Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Konrad, Christopher P.; Jaeger, Kristin; Rea, Alan H.; Sepulveda, Adam J.; Lambert, Patrick M.; Stoker, Jason M.; Giersch, J. Joseph; Muhlfeld, Clint C.
Year Published: 2019
State-space analysis of power to detect regional brook trout population trends over time
Threats to aquatic biodiversity are expressed at broad spatial scales, but identifying regional trends in abundance is challenging owing to variable sampling designs, and temporal and spatial variation in abundance. We compiled a regional dataset of brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis counts across their southern range representing 326 sites from...
Pregler, Kasey C.; Hanks, R. Daniel; Childress, Evan S.; Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Hocking, Daniel J.; Letcher, Benjamin H.; Kanno, Yoichiro
Year Published: 2018
Inferring watershed hydraulics and cold-water habitat persistence using multi-year air and stream temperature signals
Streams strongly influenced by groundwater discharge may serve as “climate refugia” for sensitive species in regions of increasingly marginal thermal conditions. The main goal of this study is to develop paired air and stream water annual temperature signal analysis techniques to elucidate the relative groundwater contribution to stream water and...
Briggs, Martin A.; Johnson, Zachary C.; Snyder, Craig D.; Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Kurylyk, Barret L.; Lautz, Laura K.; Irvine, Dylan J.; Hurley, Stephen T.; Lane, Jr., John W.Attribution: Environmental Health, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Environmental Health, Water Resources, Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, United States of America
View Citation
Briggs, M.A., Johnson, Z.C., Snyder, C.D., Hitt, N.P., Kurylyk, B., Lautz, L.K., Irvine, D.J., Hurley, S., and Lane, J.W., 2018, Inferring watershed hydraulics and cold-water habitat persistence using multi-year air and stream temperature signals, Science of the Total Environment, 636, 1117-1127doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.344.
Year Published: 2018
Shallow bedrock limits groundwater seepage-based headwater climate refugia
Groundwater/surface-water exchanges in streams are inexorably linked to adjacent aquifer dynamics. As surface-water temperatures continue to increase with climate warming, refugia created by groundwater connectivity is expected to enable cold water fish species to survive. The shallow alluvial aquifers that source groundwater seepage to headwater...
Briggs, Martin A.; Lane, John W.; Snyder, Craig D.; White, Eric A.; Johnson, Zachary; Nelms, David L.; Hitt, Nathaniel P.Attribution: Chesapeake Bay Activities, United States of America
View Citation
Briggs, M.A., Lane, J.W., Snyder, C.D., White, E.A., Johnson, Z.C., Nelms, D.L., and Hitt, N.P., 2017, Shallow mountain bedrock limits seepage-based headwater climate refugia, Limnologica, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2017.02.005
Year Published: 2017
Forecasting stream habitat and Brook Trout responses to climate change in Catoctin Mountain Park
Anticipating and mitigating the effects of climate change is a fundamental challenge for natural resource conservation. In this report, we respond to research needs identified by Catoctin Mountain Park (CATO) for native Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) conservation and management as part of the US Geological Survey (USGS) Natural...
Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Snyder, Craig D.; Snook, Erin; Johnson, Zachary; Morgan, Matthew
Year Published: 2017
Landform features and seasonal precipitation predict shallow groundwater influence on temperature in headwater streams
Headwater stream responses to climate change will depend in part on groundwater‐surface water exchanges. We used linear modeling techniques to partition likely effects of shallow groundwater seepage and air temperature on stream temperatures for 79 sites in nine focal watersheds using hourly air and water temperature measurements collected during...
Johnson, Zachary C.; Snyder, Craig D.; Hitt, Nathaniel P.Attribution: Chesapeake Bay Activities, Leetown Science Center, Ecosystems, Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian, United States of America
View Citation
Johnson, Z.C., C.D. Snyder, and N.P. Hitt. Landform features and seasonal precipitation predict shallow groundwater influence on temperature in headwater streams. Water Resources Research
Year Published: 2017
Brook trout use of thermal refugia and foraging habitat influenced by brown trout
The distribution of native brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in eastern North America is often limited by temperature and introduced brown trout (Salmo trutta), the relative importance of which is poorly understood but critical for conservation and restoration planning. We evaluated effects of brown trout on brook trout behavior and habitat use...
Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Snook, Erin; Massie, Danielle L.
Year Published: 2016
Dermocystidium sp. infection in Blue Ridge Sculpin captured in Maryland
Raised pale cysts were observed on Blue Ridge Sculpin Cottus caeruleomentum during stream fish community surveys in Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland. When examined histologically, preserved sculpin exhibited multiple cysts containing spherical endospores with a refractile central body characteristic of Dermocystidiumspp. Cysts were not observed on...
Blazer, Vicki S.; Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Snyder, Craig D.; Snook, Erin; Adams, Cynthia R.Attribution: Chesapeake Bay Activities, Leetown Science Center, Ecosystems, Environmental Health, , Contaminant Biology Program, Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian, United States of America
View Citation
Blazer, V.S., N.P. Hitt, C.D. Snyder, E.L. Snook and C.R. Adams. 2016. Dermocystidium sp. infection in Blue Ridge Sculpin captured in Maryland. J. Aquat. Animal Health 28:143-149.
Year Published: 2016
Threshold responses of Blackside Dace (Chrosomus cumberlandensis) and Kentucky Arrow Darter (Etheostoma spilotum) to stream conductivity
Chrosomus cumberlandensis (Blackside Dace [BSD]) and Etheostoma spilotum (Kentucky Arrow Darter [KAD]) are fish species of conservation concern due to their fragmented distributions, their low population sizes, and threats from anthropogenic stressors in the southeastern United States. We evaluated the relationship between fish...
Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Floyd, Michael; Compton, Michael; McDonald, KennethView Citation
Hitt, N.P., Floyd, M., Compton, M. and K. McDonald. 2016. Threshold responses of Blackside Dace (Chrosomus cumberlandensis) and Kentucky Arrow Darter (Etheostoma spilotum) to stream conductivity. Southeastern Naturalist 15:41-60.
Pre-USGS Publications
Hitt, N.P. and P.L. Angermeier. 2008. River-stream connectivity affects fish bioassessment performance. Environmental Management 42:132-150.
Hitt, N.P. and P.L. Angermeier. 2008. Evidence for fish dispersal from spatial analysis of stream network topology. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 27:304-320.
Hitt, N.P. and B.R. Murphy. 2007. An inquiry-based case study for conservation biology. Journal of Virginia Science Education 2:43-50.
Hitt, N.P. and P.L. Angermeier. 2006. Effects of adjacent streams on local fish assemblage structure in western Virginia: implications for biomonitoring. American Fisheries Society Symposium 48:75-86.
Vignieri, S.N., E.M. Hallerman, B.J. Bergstrom, D.J. Hafner, A.P. Martin, P. Devers, P. Grobler and N.P. Hitt. 2006. Mistaken view of taxonomy undermines conservation of an evolutionarily distinct mouse: a response to Ramey et al. Journal of Animal Conservation 9:237-243.
Allendorf, F.W., R. Leary, N.P. Hitt, K. Knudsen, M. Boyer and P. Spruell. 2005. Cutthroat trout hybridization and the U.S. Endangered Species Act: one species, two policies. Conservation Biology 19:1326-1328.
Hitt, N.P. and C.A. Frissell. 2004. A case study of surrogate species in aquatic conservation planning. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 14:625-633.
Allendorf, F.W., R. Leary, N.P. Hitt, K. Knudsen, L. Lundquist, and P. Spruell. 2004. Intercrosses and the U.S. Endangered Species Act: should hybridized populations be included as westslope cutthroat trout? Conservation Biology 18: 1203-1213.
Hitt, N.P., C.A. Frissell, C.C. Muhlfeld and F.W. Allendorf. 2003. Spread of hybridization between native westslope cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi, and non-native rainbow trout, O. mykiss. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 60:1440-1451.
Hitt, N.P. 2003. Immediate effects of wildfire on stream temperature. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 18:171-173.
Date published: November 16, 2016
USGS Study Reveals Interactive Effects of Climate Change, Invasive Species on Native Fish
A new USGS study shows non-native Brown Trout can place a burden on native Brook Trout under the increased water temperatures climate change can cause.
Date published: July 1, 2014
Fish Populations Down Due to Mountaintop Mining
Appalachian streams impacted by mountaintop mining have less than half as many fish species and about a third as many fish as non-impacted streams, according to U.S. Geological Survey research published this week in the journal Freshwater Science.
Attribution: