Steve McCormick is a Scientist Emeritus at the Conte Anadromous Fish Research Laboratory in Turners Falls, MA.
Steve’s work has centered on the environmental and hormonal control of water and salt balance, development, growth and reproduction of anadromous fishes, including salmon, trout, shad, alewife, sturgeon and lamprey. This research has addressed important environmental issues including acidification, impacts of dams, endocrine disruptors and climate change, especially the impacts of temperature and salinity. The results of this work have been published in more than 190 papers and book chapters. Steve has been Chair of the Division of Comparative Endocrinology and member of the Executive Board of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology, and President and Current Member of the Executive Committee of the Physiology Section of the American Fisheries Society (AFS). He has been a visiting scientist at the University of Goteborg (1988) and Ocean Research Institute of the University of Tokyo (1990), James Chair Visiting Professor at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada (1999) and Visiting Scholar at Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan (2002). In 2014 he received the Excellence in Fish Physiology Award for lifetime achievement from the Physiology Section of AFS. He has been an adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst since 1990 and Associate Editor of General and Comparative Endocrinology since 1996.
Professional Experience
1990-present Research Physiologist & Physiology Section Leader, Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center, USGS, Turners Falls, MA.
2016-present Senior Scientist, USGS
1998-1999 Acting Director, Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center, USGS, Biological Resources Division, Turners Falls, MA.
1989-1990 Research Fellow, Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo (with Professor Tetsuya Hirano, 4 months).
1986-1989 Postdoctoral Fellow (NIH) with Professor Howard A. Bern in the Department of Zoology, Univ. of California, Berkeley.
1983-1986 Postdoctoral Fellow, with Dr. Richard L. Saunders, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, St. Andrews Biological Station, New Brunswick, Canada.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., 1983, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanography Joint Program in Oceanography, Cambridge and Woods Hole, MA USA
Affiliations and Memberships*
1990-present, Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
1992-present, Adjunct Professor, Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
1993 Member, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Science and Products
Understanding Brook Trout Persistence in Warming Streams
Effects of temperature and energy use on fish passage and spawning success of American shad
Sockeye Salmon Migrating at the Northern Edge of Their Distribution
Assessing heat stress in migrating Yukon River Chinook Salmon
Fish Physiology
Science and Products
- Publications
- Science
Understanding Brook Trout Persistence in Warming Streams
Cold-water adapted Brook Trout were historically widely distributed – ranging from northern Quebec to Georgia, and from the Atlantic Ocean to Manitoba in the north, and along the Appalachian ridge in the south. However, studies show that due to factors associated with climate change, such as increased stream temperature and changing water flow, the number of streams containing Brook Trout is decli...Effects of temperature and energy use on fish passage and spawning success of American shad
American Shad are the most numerous and economically important anadromous species on the east coast of the United States. Yet in many river systems their populations have experienced declines, primarily due to the impacts of dams and habitat loss.Sockeye Salmon Migrating at the Northern Edge of Their Distribution
The physiological challenge for anadromous fish to migrate upriver to spawn and complete their life cycle is influenced by river temperature.Assessing heat stress in migrating Yukon River Chinook Salmon
We will examine evidence of heat stress in Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) using heat shock proteins and gene expression.Fish Physiology
Physiological demands are especially important to anadromous fish because of their need to move between freshwater and seawater and to make long, often difficult migrations. - Data
- Multimedia
- News
*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