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Stuart Welsh, PhD

Assistant Unit Leader - West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Research Interests

  • Systematics 
  • Ecology 
  • Conservation of freshwater fishes

Teaching Interests

  • Ichthyology 
  • Zoogeography
  • Systematics

Professional Experience

  • Assistant Unit Leader, West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2000-

Education and Certifications

  • Ph D West Virginia University 1997

  • MS Frostburg State University 1994

  • BS West Virginia University 1990

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 78

Quantitative PCR detection of endangered diamond darter Crystallaria Cincotta in environmental DNA: Employing locked nucleic acids and blocking probe for specificity Quantitative PCR detection of endangered diamond darter Crystallaria Cincotta in environmental DNA: Employing locked nucleic acids and blocking probe for specificity

This study presents a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay for the detection of the endangered diamond darter Crystallaria cincotta from environmental DNA (eDNA) in water samples. The assay design is based on an alignment of mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequences from 58 individuals representing 25 percid species. Leveraging genetic differences, a species-specific qPCR assay was designed...
Authors
Andrew P. Kinziger, Cameron M. Layne, Stuart A. Welsh
By
Cooperative Research Units

Blueprints for riverine cod nest boxes draw from multiple design considerations Blueprints for riverine cod nest boxes draw from multiple design considerations

Designing aquatic nest boxes is rarely afforded detailed scientific account. Here we provide some historical context for nest boxes used in production of large-bodied fishes of the Australian freshwater cod genus Maccullochella. Our experience with eastern freshwater cod is used as a case study to: (a) convey aspects of the complexity of the nest box design process and to (b) demonstrate...
Authors
Brendan C. Ebner, Shaun S. Morris, John St Vincent Welch, Paul C. Ryan, Mitch Turner, Leo M. Cameron, Natalie Poitras, Brooke Coonrod, Stuart A. Welsh, Matthew McLellan, Lachie Jess, Stephen Vidler, Brett A. Ingram, S. Thurstan, S. J. Rowland, S. Blake, G. L. Butler
By
Cooperative Research Units

Endemic and invasive species: A history of distributional trends in the fish fauna of the lower New River drainage Endemic and invasive species: A history of distributional trends in the fish fauna of the lower New River drainage

Invasive species are often central to conservation efforts, particularly when concerns involve potential impacts on rare, endemic native species. The lower New River drainage of the eastern United States is a watershed that warrants conservation assessment, as the system is naturally depauperate of native fish species and it is nearly saturated with non-native fish species: there are 31...
Authors
Stuart A. Welsh, Daniel A. Cincotta, Nathaniel V. Owens, Jay R. Stauffer
By
Cooperative Research Units

Paddlefish movement and dam passage in the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, West Virginia Paddlefish movement and dam passage in the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, West Virginia

The Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), a large-bodied and highly migratory species of large river systems, has experienced population declines or extirpation in parts of its native range. As an effort to reestablish a Paddlefish population in the Ohio River of West Virginia, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has stocked fingerling Paddlefish in the previous two decades. Post...
Authors
Stuart A. Welsh, Katherine J. Zipfel, Andrew W. Peters, David C. Hoffman, Cameron M. Layne
By
Cooperative Research Units

An update of the ichthyofauna of West Virginia with notes on historic sportfish stockings An update of the ichthyofauna of West Virginia with notes on historic sportfish stockings

The management and conservation of faunas at regional scales depend on current data on species diversity and distribution. Relative to the ichthyofauna of West Virginia, few studies have recently documented the richness and distribution of fishes in the state, with even the most comprehensive publications rarely discussing either the conservation status of individual fishes or historical...
Authors
D. A. Cincotta, S.A. Welsh
By
Cooperative Research Units

An experimental study of benthic habitat selection in yellow-phase American eels (Anguilla rostrata) An experimental study of benthic habitat selection in yellow-phase American eels (Anguilla rostrata)

In a laboratory experiment, we quantified microhabitat use of small yellow-phase American eels (Anguilla rostrata, n = 130, 224–338 mm TL) conditional on five benthic substrate types common to rivers within their geographic range. During nine, 4-day trials replicated with three aquaria, American eels were given a choice to burrow into five equally available benthic substrates: cobble (90...
Authors
Melissa Braham, S.A. Welsh, Dustin M. Smith
By
Cooperative Research Units
Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

The West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (est. 1986) is a partnership among the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute.
By
Cooperative Research Units
West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

The West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (est. 1986) is a partnership among the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute.
Learn More

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 78

Quantitative PCR detection of endangered diamond darter Crystallaria Cincotta in environmental DNA: Employing locked nucleic acids and blocking probe for specificity Quantitative PCR detection of endangered diamond darter Crystallaria Cincotta in environmental DNA: Employing locked nucleic acids and blocking probe for specificity

This study presents a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay for the detection of the endangered diamond darter Crystallaria cincotta from environmental DNA (eDNA) in water samples. The assay design is based on an alignment of mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequences from 58 individuals representing 25 percid species. Leveraging genetic differences, a species-specific qPCR assay was designed...
Authors
Andrew P. Kinziger, Cameron M. Layne, Stuart A. Welsh
By
Cooperative Research Units

Blueprints for riverine cod nest boxes draw from multiple design considerations Blueprints for riverine cod nest boxes draw from multiple design considerations

Designing aquatic nest boxes is rarely afforded detailed scientific account. Here we provide some historical context for nest boxes used in production of large-bodied fishes of the Australian freshwater cod genus Maccullochella. Our experience with eastern freshwater cod is used as a case study to: (a) convey aspects of the complexity of the nest box design process and to (b) demonstrate...
Authors
Brendan C. Ebner, Shaun S. Morris, John St Vincent Welch, Paul C. Ryan, Mitch Turner, Leo M. Cameron, Natalie Poitras, Brooke Coonrod, Stuart A. Welsh, Matthew McLellan, Lachie Jess, Stephen Vidler, Brett A. Ingram, S. Thurstan, S. J. Rowland, S. Blake, G. L. Butler
By
Cooperative Research Units

Endemic and invasive species: A history of distributional trends in the fish fauna of the lower New River drainage Endemic and invasive species: A history of distributional trends in the fish fauna of the lower New River drainage

Invasive species are often central to conservation efforts, particularly when concerns involve potential impacts on rare, endemic native species. The lower New River drainage of the eastern United States is a watershed that warrants conservation assessment, as the system is naturally depauperate of native fish species and it is nearly saturated with non-native fish species: there are 31...
Authors
Stuart A. Welsh, Daniel A. Cincotta, Nathaniel V. Owens, Jay R. Stauffer
By
Cooperative Research Units

Paddlefish movement and dam passage in the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, West Virginia Paddlefish movement and dam passage in the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, West Virginia

The Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), a large-bodied and highly migratory species of large river systems, has experienced population declines or extirpation in parts of its native range. As an effort to reestablish a Paddlefish population in the Ohio River of West Virginia, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has stocked fingerling Paddlefish in the previous two decades. Post...
Authors
Stuart A. Welsh, Katherine J. Zipfel, Andrew W. Peters, David C. Hoffman, Cameron M. Layne
By
Cooperative Research Units

An update of the ichthyofauna of West Virginia with notes on historic sportfish stockings An update of the ichthyofauna of West Virginia with notes on historic sportfish stockings

The management and conservation of faunas at regional scales depend on current data on species diversity and distribution. Relative to the ichthyofauna of West Virginia, few studies have recently documented the richness and distribution of fishes in the state, with even the most comprehensive publications rarely discussing either the conservation status of individual fishes or historical...
Authors
D. A. Cincotta, S.A. Welsh
By
Cooperative Research Units

An experimental study of benthic habitat selection in yellow-phase American eels (Anguilla rostrata) An experimental study of benthic habitat selection in yellow-phase American eels (Anguilla rostrata)

In a laboratory experiment, we quantified microhabitat use of small yellow-phase American eels (Anguilla rostrata, n = 130, 224–338 mm TL) conditional on five benthic substrate types common to rivers within their geographic range. During nine, 4-day trials replicated with three aquaria, American eels were given a choice to burrow into five equally available benthic substrates: cobble (90...
Authors
Melissa Braham, S.A. Welsh, Dustin M. Smith
By
Cooperative Research Units
Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

The West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (est. 1986) is a partnership among the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute.
By
Cooperative Research Units
West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

The West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (est. 1986) is a partnership among the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute.
Learn More
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