Richard T Kraus, PhD
My current position is with the Great Lakes Science Center, at Lake Erie Biological Station in Huron, OH. In addition to my role as a Research Fishery Biologist at the center, I am also the station supervisor and responsible for managing station personnel and activities on our large research vessel, the R/V Muskie, which is dedicated to research on Lake Erie.
My research is primarily aimed at understanding the consequences of migration and habitat use to population dynamics, species interactions, and resource management. I apply a wide range of methods to inform management decisions on the conservation and rehabilitation of native species. My work typically involves interagency collaboration with US state and federal agencies, Canadian provincial and federal partners, and academics, as defined by legislative mandates (e.g., Great Lakes Fishery Research Authorization Act) and Memoranda of Understanding with the Great Lakes Council of Lake Committees. We work together on key issues to advance our understanding of interjurisdictional fishes with complex life cycles for the benefit of stakeholders and the public.
Professional Experience
Supervisory Research Fishery Biologist, Lake Erie Biological Station, 2010 to present.
Assistant Professor, George Mason University, 2006 to 2010
Assistant Research Scientist, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 2006
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 2003 to 2006
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Marine Estuarine and Environmental Sciences, University of Maryland, 2003
M.S. Marine Science, College of William and Mary, 1998
B.S. Marine Biology cum laude, College of Charleston, 1994
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists
American Fisheries Society
International Association of Great Lakes Researchers
Science and Products
Science pages by this scientist
Data releases by this scientist
Lake Erie Collaborative Science and Monitoring Initiative 2014
Lake Erie Fish Community Data, 2013-2017
Condition of Surgical Acoustic Tag Incisions in Recaptured Lake Erie Walleye (2011-2016)
Lake Erie Fish Community Data, 2013-2016
Gill net catch data in Lake Erie, 2010-2013
Lake Erie Fish Community Data
Publications by this scientist
Vertical habitat use of adult Walleye conflicts with expectations from fishery-independent surveys
Fisheries research and monitoring activities of the Lake Erie Biological Station, 2017
Growth and reproduction of Echeneis naucrates from the eastern Gulf of Mexico
Inferred fish behavior its implications for hydroacoustic surveys in nearshore habitats
Evaluation of acoustic telemetry grids for determining aquatic animal movement and survival
Does behavioural thermoregulation underlie seasonal movements in Lake Erie walleye?
Biomonitoring using invasive species in a large Lake: Dreissena distribution maps hypoxic zones
Estimating incision healing rate for surgically implanted acoustic transmitters from recaptured fish
Reconciling catch differences from multiple fishery independent gill net surveys
Sparse targets in hydroacoustic surveys: Balancing quantity and quality of in situ target strength data
Fisheries research and monitoring activities of the Lake Erie Biological Station, 2016
Developing fish trophic interaction indicators of climate change for the Great Lakes
News related to this scientist
Science and Products
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Science pages by this scientist
- Data
Data releases by this scientist
Filter Total Items: 18Lake Erie Collaborative Science and Monitoring Initiative 2014
In 2014, the USGS Lake Erie Biological Station participated in the Coordinated Science and Monitoring Initiative (CMSI) program, a program founded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Environment Canada in the 1990s as a means to focus collaborative research attention on one of the five Great Lakes each year (on a rotating schedule) as a means to increase scientific knowledge forLake Erie Fish Community Data, 2013-2017
Assessing the distribution and abundance of both predator and prey (forage) fish species is a cornerstone of ecosystem-based based fishery management, and supports decision making that considers food-web interactions. In support of binational Great Lakes fishery management the objectives of this survey were to: provide estimates of densities of key forage and predator species in the western basinCondition of Surgical Acoustic Tag Incisions in Recaptured Lake Erie Walleye (2011-2016)
Intracoelomic implantation of electronic tags has become a common method in fishery research, but rarely are fish examined by scientists after release to understand the extent that surgical incisions have healed. Walleye (Sander vitreus) are a valuable, highly-exploited fishery resource in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Here, fishery capture of walleye with internal acoustic transmitters combined witLake Erie Fish Community Data, 2013-2016
Lake Erie Biological Station (LEBS), located in Sandusky, Ohio, is a field station of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC). LEBS is the primary federal agency for applied fisheries science excellence in Lake Erie. Since 2004, LEBS has participated in a collaborative, multiagency effort to assess forage fish populations in the western basin of Lake Erie. Assessing the distribution and abundanGill net catch data in Lake Erie, 2010-2013
This data set includes site characteristics and fish catch rate information for gill nets deployed in Lake Erie. Catches of walleye (Sander vitreus), clupeidae, and moronidae are tallied by mesh size and net type at each deployment site. More detailed information about net construction and methods is provided in the accompanying Fisheries Research article. Kraus, Richard T., Vandergoot, ChristopheLake Erie Fish Community Data
This data is intended for use by Lake Erie fisheries managers, academia, the fishing industry, and the public. The data sets are annually evaluated to provide estimates of abundance of key forage and predator species, to assess seasonal and spatial distributions of fishes, and assess year class strength of key forage and predator species in the western basin of Lake Erie. The data sets are then pr - Multimedia
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Publications by this scientist
Filter Total Items: 34Vertical habitat use of adult Walleye conflicts with expectations from fishery-independent surveys
Stock assessments of Walleyes Sander vitreus in Lake Erie rely on a combination of suspended and bottom overnight gill‐net surveys to provide population and demographic information. However, the assumption that Walleyes undertake diel vertical migrations and become available to the suspended gill nets at night has never been validated. To understand how vertical habitat use affects the availabilitAuthorsAnn Marie Gorman, Richard T. Kraus, Lee Gutowsky, Christopher Vandergoot, Yingming Zhao, Carey Knight, Matt Faust, Todd Hayden, Charles KruegerFisheries research and monitoring activities of the Lake Erie Biological Station, 2017
This report presents biomass-based summaries of fish communities in western Lake Erie derived from USGS bottom trawl surveys from 2013 to 2017 during June and September. The survey design provided temporal and spatial coverage that does not exist in the interagency trawl database, and thus complemented the August Ohio-Ontario effort to reinforce stock assessments with more robust data. Analyses heAuthorsKevin R. Keretz, Patrick Kočovský, Richard T. Kraus, Christopher VandergootGrowth and reproduction of Echeneis naucrates from the eastern Gulf of Mexico
This study describes growth and reproductive characteristics of a facultative elasmobranch symbiont, Echeneis naucrates. Females grew slower but achieved a larger size than males (growth coefficient, K = 0.25 and 0.38 year−1, and mean maximum size, L∞= 603 and 477 mm, respectively). Mean relative batch fecundity was 39.5 (s.d. = 13.1). Gonadosomatic indices peaked in July and August for males andAuthorsBeverly A. Bachman, Richard T. Kraus, Cheston T. Peterson, Ralph Dean Grubbs, Esther C. PetersInferred fish behavior its implications for hydroacoustic surveys in nearshore habitats
Population availability and vessel avoidance effects on hydroacoustic abundance estimates may be scale dependent; therefore, it is important to evaluate these biases across systems. We performed an inter-ship comparison survey to determine the effect of vessel size, day-night period, depth, and environmental gradients on walleye (Sander vitreus) density estimates in Lake Erie, an intermediate-scalAuthorsMark R. DuFour, Christine M. Mayer, Song S. Qian, Christopher Vandergoot, Richard T. Kraus, Patrick Kočovský, David M. WarnerEvaluation of acoustic telemetry grids for determining aquatic animal movement and survival
Acoustic telemetry studies have frequently prioritized linear configurations of hydrophone receivers, such as perpendicular from shorelines or across rivers, to detect the presence of tagged aquatic animals. This approach introduces unknown bias when receivers are stationed for convenience at geographic bottlenecks (e.g., at the mouth of an embayment or between islands) as opposed to deployments fAuthorsRichard T. Kraus, Christopher Holbrook, Christopher Vandergoot, Taylor R. Stewart, Matthew D. Faust, Douglas A. Watkinson, Colin Charles, Mark Pegg, Eva C. Enders, Charles C. KruegerDoes behavioural thermoregulation underlie seasonal movements in Lake Erie walleye?
Thermoregulation is presumed to be a widespread determinant of behaviour in fishes, but has not often been investigated as a mechanism shaping long-distance migrations. We used acoustic telemetry and animal-borne thermal loggers to test the hypothesis that seasonal migration in adult walleye (Sander vitreus) in Lake Erie is size- and (or) sex-specific and related to behavioural thermoregulation. FAuthorsGraham D. Raby, Christopher Vandergoot, Todd A. Hayden, Matthew D. Faust, Richard T. Kraus, John M. Dettmers, Steven J. Cooke, Yingming Zhao, Aaron T. Fisk, Charles C. KruegerBiomonitoring using invasive species in a large Lake: Dreissena distribution maps hypoxic zones
Due to cultural eutrophication and global climate change, an exponential increase in the number and extent of hypoxic zones in marine and freshwater ecosystems has been observed in the last few decades. Hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, can produce strong negative ecological impacts and, therefore, is a management concern. We measured biomass and densities of Dreissena in LakeAuthorsAlexander Y. Karatayev, Lyubov E. Burlakova, Knut Mehler, Serghei A. Bocaniov, Paris D. Collingsworth, Glenn Warren, Richard T. Kraus, Elizabeth K. HincheyEstimating incision healing rate for surgically implanted acoustic transmitters from recaptured fish
Background Intracoelomic implantation of electronic tags has become a common method in fishery research, but rarely are fish examined by scientists after release to understand the extent that surgical incisions have healed. Walleye (Sander vitreus) are a valuable, highly exploited fishery resource in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Here, fishery capture of walleye with internal acoustic transmitters cAuthorsAbby Schoonyan, Richard T. Kraus, Matthew D. Faust, Christopher Vandergoot, Steven J. Cooke, H. Andrew Cook, Todd A. Hayden, Charles C. KruegerReconciling catch differences from multiple fishery independent gill net surveys
Fishery independent gill net surveys provide valuable demographic information for population assessment and resource management, but relative to net construction, the effects of ancillary species, and environmental variables on focal species catch rates are poorly understood. In response, we conducted comparative deployments with three unique, inter-agency, survey gill nets used to assess walleyeAuthorsRichard T. Kraus, Christopher Vandergoot, Patrick M. Kocovsky, Mark W. Rogers, H. Andrew Cook, Travis O. BrendenSparse targets in hydroacoustic surveys: Balancing quantity and quality of in situ target strength data
Hydroacoustic sampling of low-density fish in shallow water can lead to low sample sizes of naturally variable target strength (TS) estimates, resulting in both sparse and variable data. Increasing maximum beam compensation (BC) beyond conventional values (i.e., 3 dB beam width) can recover more targets during data analysis; however, data quality decreases near the acoustic beam edges. We identifiAuthorsMark R. DuFour, Christine M. Mayer, Patrick Kočovský, Song Qian, David M. Warner, Richard T. Kraus, Christopher VandergootFisheries research and monitoring activities of the Lake Erie Biological Station, 2016
We conducted a biomass-based assessment of the Lake Erie Western Basin fish community using data collected from 2013-2016 Western Basin (spring and autumn) bottom trawl surveys. Biomass of total catch per hectare has decreased 75 percent since 2013. Declines were observed across all functional groups, but most notable was the decline of Emerald Shiner, which decreased from 25.3 kg/ha in spring 201AuthorsBetsy L. Bodamer Scarbro, Richard T. Kraus, Patrick Kočovský, Christopher VandergootDeveloping fish trophic interaction indicators of climate change for the Great Lakes
This project addressed regional climate change effects on aquatic food webs in the Great Lakes. We sought insights by examining Lake Erie as a representative system with a high level of anthropogenic impacts, strong nutrient gradients, seasonal hypoxia, and spatial overlap of cold- and cool-water fish guilds. In Lake Erie and in large embayments throughout the Great Lakes basin, this situation isAuthorsRichard T. Kraus, Carey T. Knight, Ann Marie Gorman, Patrick M. Kocovsky, Brian C. Weidel, Mark W. Rogers - News
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*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government