Stuart Welsh, PhD

The goal of this review paper is to provide a list of methods and devices used to measure sediment accumulation in wadeable streams dominated by cobble and gravel substrate. Quantitative measures of stream sedimentation are useful to monitor and study anthropogenic impacts on stream biota, and stream sedimentation is measurable with multiple sampling methods. Evaluation of sedimentation can be mad

Distribution, habitat, and species description of the Diamond Darter, Crystallaria cincotta. 

Stream habitat data are often collected across spatial scales because relationships among habitat, species occurrence, and management plans are linked at multiple spatial scales. Unfortunately, scale is often a factor limiting insight gained from spatial analysis of stream habitat data. Considerable cost is often expended to collect data at several spatial scales to provide accurate evaluation of

A new method (baited lines) is described for the collection of burrowing crayfishes, where fishing hooks baited with earthworms and tied to monofilament leaders are used to lure crayfishes from their burrow entrances. We estimated capture rates using baited lines at four locations across West Virginia for a total of four crayfish taxa; the taxa studied were orange, blue, and blue/orange morphs of 

Among crayfish, primary burrowing species are the least understood ecologically. Many primary burrowing crayfish inhabit floodplains where forested landscapes have been fragmented by agricultural, industrial, or residential uses. In this study, site occupancy rates (ψ) were modeled for two primary burrowing crayfish, Fallicambarus fodiens (Cottle, 1863) and Cambarus thomai Jezerinac, 1993, from Oh

Population declines of lamprey species have largely been attributed to habitat degradation, yet there still remain many unanswered questions about the relationships between lampreys and their habitats (Torgensen & Close 2004; Smith et al. 2011). One scarcely researched area of lamprey ecology is the effect of predation on lampreys (Cochran 2009). Specifically, the influence of available habitat on

Natural stream channel design principles and riparian restoration practices were applied during spring 2010 to an agriculturally impaired reach of the Cacapon River, a tributary of the Potomac River which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and fishes were sampled from the restoration reach, two degraded control, and two natural reference reaches prior to, concurrently with,

Prevalence of the non-native swim bladder nematode Anguillicoloides crassus has recently increased in American eels from estuaries of the North American Atlantic coast, but little is known about parasite prevalence or conditions of previous infection in upstream migrant eels within upper watersheds. This study is the first to confirm presence of A. crassus in the upper Potomac River watershed. We

In this laboratory study, we quantified substrate selection by small (<50 mm) and large (100–150 mm) ammocoetes of the least brook lamprey (Lampetra aepyptera). In aquaria, ammocoetes were given a choice to burrow into six equally-available substrate types: small gravel (2.360–4.750 mm), coarse sand (0.500–1.400 mm), fine sand (0.125–0.500 mm), organic substrate (approximately 70% decomposing leav

Cambarus (Puncticambarus) smilax is a stream-dwelling crayfish that appears to be endemic to the Greenbrier River basin in the Valley and Ridge province of West Virginia. Within the Greenbrier system it occurs primarily in tributaries to the Greenbrier mainstem, with stable populations in the East and West Fork, and Thorny, Knapp, and Deer creeks. The new species is morphologically most similar to

No abstract available.

The diversity of crayfishes in West Virginia represents a transition between the species-rich southern Appalachian faunas and the depauperate crayfish diversity in the northeastern United States. Currently, 22 described species occur in the state, of which 6 are given S1 status, and 3 are introduced species. One species, Orconectes limosus (Spinycheek Crayfish) is considered extirpated within the