Stephen D McCormick
Steve McCormick is a Scientist Emeritus with the Eastern Ecological Science Center at the S.O. Conte 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
Assessing heat stress in migrating Yukon River Chinook Salmon
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
Fish Physiology
Longer exposure to warm water increases subsequent thermal tolerance of brook trout in cold water: acclimation timing and physiology Longer exposure to warm water increases subsequent thermal tolerance of brook trout in cold water: acclimation timing and physiology
Impact of Thiamine Deficiency on American eel swimming performance Impact of Thiamine Deficiency on American eel swimming performance
Loss of acclimation response of brook trout acclimated to three thermal regimes for 2-years and then moved to a common colder temperature Loss of acclimation response of brook trout acclimated to three thermal regimes for 2-years and then moved to a common colder temperature
Data for examining thermal equilibration rates of brook trout implanted with temperature recording tags and subjected to rapid and slow temperature changes Data for examining thermal equilibration rates of brook trout implanted with temperature recording tags and subjected to rapid and slow temperature changes
Gene Transcription and Heat Shock Protein 70 Abundance Measured in Muscle Tissue of Chinook Salmon, Yukon River Watershed, Alaska, 2016–2018 Gene Transcription and Heat Shock Protein 70 Abundance Measured in Muscle Tissue of Chinook Salmon, Yukon River Watershed, Alaska, 2016–2018
Physiological changes in response to salinity and cortisol treatment in Atlantic sturgeon Physiological changes in response to salinity and cortisol treatment in Atlantic sturgeon
Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) Body Condition and Water Temperature Along the Pilgrim River, Northwestern Alaska, 2013-2016 Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) Body Condition and Water Temperature Along the Pilgrim River, Northwestern Alaska, 2013-2016
Longer exposure to warm water increases subsequent thermal tolerance of brook trout in cold water: Acclimation timing and physiology Longer exposure to warm water increases subsequent thermal tolerance of brook trout in cold water: Acclimation timing and physiology
Divergence of leptin receptor and interleukin-6 receptor subunit b in early vertebrate evolution and physiological insights from the sea lamprey Divergence of leptin receptor and interleukin-6 receptor subunit b in early vertebrate evolution and physiological insights from the sea lamprey
Expression of corticoid-regulatory genes in the gills of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr and smolt and during salinity acclimation Expression of corticoid-regulatory genes in the gills of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr and smolt and during salinity acclimation
A Cftr-independent, Ano1-rich seawater-adaptive ionocyte in sea lamprey gills A Cftr-independent, Ano1-rich seawater-adaptive ionocyte in sea lamprey gills
Thermal transfer rate is slower in bigger fish: How does body size affect response time of small, implantable temperature recording tags? Thermal transfer rate is slower in bigger fish: How does body size affect response time of small, implantable temperature recording tags?
Smaller body size under warming is not due to gill-oxygen limitation in a coldwater salmonid Smaller body size under warming is not due to gill-oxygen limitation in a coldwater salmonid
Differential heat shock protein responses in two species of Pacific salmon and their utility in identifying heat stress Differential heat shock protein responses in two species of Pacific salmon and their utility in identifying heat stress
Osmoregulation and acid-base balance. Osmoregulation and acid-base balance.
Discovery of prolactin-like in lamprey: Role in osmoregulation and new insight into the evolution of the growth hormone/prolactin family Discovery of prolactin-like in lamprey: Role in osmoregulation and new insight into the evolution of the growth hormone/prolactin family
Evaluating acid-aluminum stress in streams of the Northeastern U.S. at watershed, fish community and physiological scales Evaluating acid-aluminum stress in streams of the Northeastern U.S. at watershed, fish community and physiological scales
Juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) have a wide window of elevated salinity tolerance that is eventually limited during springtime warming Juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) have a wide window of elevated salinity tolerance that is eventually limited during springtime warming
Metabolic costs associated with seawater acclimation in a euryhaline teleost, the fourspine stickleback (Apeltes quadracus) Metabolic costs associated with seawater acclimation in a euryhaline teleost, the fourspine stickleback (Apeltes quadracus)
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Assessing heat stress in migrating Yukon River Chinook Salmon
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
Fish Physiology
Longer exposure to warm water increases subsequent thermal tolerance of brook trout in cold water: acclimation timing and physiology Longer exposure to warm water increases subsequent thermal tolerance of brook trout in cold water: acclimation timing and physiology
Impact of Thiamine Deficiency on American eel swimming performance Impact of Thiamine Deficiency on American eel swimming performance
Loss of acclimation response of brook trout acclimated to three thermal regimes for 2-years and then moved to a common colder temperature Loss of acclimation response of brook trout acclimated to three thermal regimes for 2-years and then moved to a common colder temperature
Data for examining thermal equilibration rates of brook trout implanted with temperature recording tags and subjected to rapid and slow temperature changes Data for examining thermal equilibration rates of brook trout implanted with temperature recording tags and subjected to rapid and slow temperature changes
Gene Transcription and Heat Shock Protein 70 Abundance Measured in Muscle Tissue of Chinook Salmon, Yukon River Watershed, Alaska, 2016–2018 Gene Transcription and Heat Shock Protein 70 Abundance Measured in Muscle Tissue of Chinook Salmon, Yukon River Watershed, Alaska, 2016–2018
Physiological changes in response to salinity and cortisol treatment in Atlantic sturgeon Physiological changes in response to salinity and cortisol treatment in Atlantic sturgeon
Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) Body Condition and Water Temperature Along the Pilgrim River, Northwestern Alaska, 2013-2016 Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) Body Condition and Water Temperature Along the Pilgrim River, Northwestern Alaska, 2013-2016
Longer exposure to warm water increases subsequent thermal tolerance of brook trout in cold water: Acclimation timing and physiology Longer exposure to warm water increases subsequent thermal tolerance of brook trout in cold water: Acclimation timing and physiology
Divergence of leptin receptor and interleukin-6 receptor subunit b in early vertebrate evolution and physiological insights from the sea lamprey Divergence of leptin receptor and interleukin-6 receptor subunit b in early vertebrate evolution and physiological insights from the sea lamprey
Expression of corticoid-regulatory genes in the gills of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr and smolt and during salinity acclimation Expression of corticoid-regulatory genes in the gills of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr and smolt and during salinity acclimation
A Cftr-independent, Ano1-rich seawater-adaptive ionocyte in sea lamprey gills A Cftr-independent, Ano1-rich seawater-adaptive ionocyte in sea lamprey gills
Thermal transfer rate is slower in bigger fish: How does body size affect response time of small, implantable temperature recording tags? Thermal transfer rate is slower in bigger fish: How does body size affect response time of small, implantable temperature recording tags?
Smaller body size under warming is not due to gill-oxygen limitation in a coldwater salmonid Smaller body size under warming is not due to gill-oxygen limitation in a coldwater salmonid
Differential heat shock protein responses in two species of Pacific salmon and their utility in identifying heat stress Differential heat shock protein responses in two species of Pacific salmon and their utility in identifying heat stress
Osmoregulation and acid-base balance. Osmoregulation and acid-base balance.
Discovery of prolactin-like in lamprey: Role in osmoregulation and new insight into the evolution of the growth hormone/prolactin family Discovery of prolactin-like in lamprey: Role in osmoregulation and new insight into the evolution of the growth hormone/prolactin family
Evaluating acid-aluminum stress in streams of the Northeastern U.S. at watershed, fish community and physiological scales Evaluating acid-aluminum stress in streams of the Northeastern U.S. at watershed, fish community and physiological scales
Juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) have a wide window of elevated salinity tolerance that is eventually limited during springtime warming Juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) have a wide window of elevated salinity tolerance that is eventually limited during springtime warming
Metabolic costs associated with seawater acclimation in a euryhaline teleost, the fourspine stickleback (Apeltes quadracus) Metabolic costs associated with seawater acclimation in a euryhaline teleost, the fourspine stickleback (Apeltes quadracus)
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
*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