Travis S Schmidt, Ph.D.
Travis Schmidt is a Research Ecologist for the Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center.
Travis' aims are to better understand how ecosystems respond to natural and human cause disturbances. He researches the effects of metals, pesticides, and other contaminants on aquatic and riparian ecological communities.
Professional Experience
2020 to present, Research Ecologist, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, Helena, MT
2009-2020, Research Ecologist, Colorado Water Science Center, Fort Collins, CO
2007-2009, Mendenhall Fellow, Central Mineral and Environmental Science Center, Denver, CO
2003-2007, USDA Fellow, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
2001-2003, Ecotoxicologist, ELM Consulting, Chicago, IL
1999-2001, Research Assistant, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
1998-1999, Research Assistant, Aquatic Ecology Lab, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
1998-1999, Department of Biology, Notre Dame University, South Bend, IN
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Ecotoxicology, Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 2007
M.S. Aquatic Toxicology, Biology Department, Virginia Tech, 2001
B.S. Ecology, Biology Department, The Pennsylvania State University, 1998
Science and Products
Data for Biogeochemical and Physical Processes Controlling Mercury and Selenium Bioaccumulation in Bighorn Lake, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Montana and Wyoming, 2015-2016
Disentangling the effects of low pH and metal mixture toxicity on macroinvertebrate diversity: datasets
Zinc concentrations and isotopic signatures of an aquatic insect (mayfly, Baetis tricaudatus)
Bifenthrin causes trophic cascade and altered insect emergences in mesocosms: implications for small streams
Time-dependent accumulation of Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn in mayfly and caddisfly larvae in experimental streams: Metal sensitivity, uptake pathways, and mixture toxicity
Biofilms provide new insight into pesticide occurrence in streams and links to aquatic ecological communities
Bioaccumulation and toxicity of cadmium, copper, nickel, and zinc and their mixtures to aquatic insect communities
Projected urban growth in the Southeastern USA puts small streams at risk
Benthic algal (Periphyton) growth rates in response to nitrogen and phosphorus: Parameter estimation for water quality models
Linking the agricultural landscape of the Midwest to stream health with structural equation modeling
Understanding the captivity effect on invertebrate communities transplanted into an experimental stream laboratory
Quantifying differences in responses of aquatic insects to trace metal exposure in field studies and short-term stream mesocosm experiments
Disentangling the effects of low pH and metal mixture toxicity on macroinvertebrate diversity
Complex mixtures of dissolved pesticides show potential aquatic toxicity in a synoptic study of Midwestern U.S. streams
Thermal regimes of Rocky Mountain lakes warm with climate change
Metamorphosis affects metal concentrations and isotopic signatures in a mayfly (Baetis tricaudatus): Implications for the aquatic-terrestrial transfer of metals
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
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Filter Total Items: 16
Data for Biogeochemical and Physical Processes Controlling Mercury and Selenium Bioaccumulation in Bighorn Lake, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Montana and Wyoming, 2015-2016
This dataset includes the field measurements and laboratory analyses of surface water, seston, fish tissue, and sediment samples collected from Bighorn Lake, within Bighorn Canyon National Recreation area (BICA), during high flow (July 2015) and low flow (August 2016) conditions. The study area includes 7-9 sampling sites that follow a transect spanning the entire length of the reservoir from theDisentangling the effects of low pH and metal mixture toxicity on macroinvertebrate diversity: datasets
This dataset is comprised of water quality data and benthic macroinvertebrate data collected from basins in Colorado, USA, and Finland. The data includes ancillary water quality characteristics but also a suite of trace metals observed at each site. Also included are modeled outputs that characterize the bioavailability of each trace metal to a biotic ligand. These data were used to explore the imZinc concentrations and isotopic signatures of an aquatic insect (mayfly, Baetis tricaudatus)
Insect metamorphosis often results in substantial chemical changes that can fractionate isotopes and alter contaminant concentrations. We exposed larval mayflies (Baetis tricaudatus) to an aqueous zinc gradient (3-340 g Zn/l) and measured the change in zinc tissue concentrations at different stages of metamorphosis. We also measured changes in stable isotopes (δ15N and δ13C) in unexposed B. tricauBifenthrin causes trophic cascade and altered insect emergences in mesocosms: implications for small streams
Direct and indirect ecological effects of the widely used insecticide bifenthrin on stream ecosystems are largely unknown. To investigate such effects, a manipulative experiment was conducted in stream mesocosms that were colonized by aquatic insect communities and exposed to bifenthrin-contaminated sediment; implications for natural streams were interpreted through comparison of mesocosm results - Multimedia
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Filter Total Items: 60
Time-dependent accumulation of Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn in mayfly and caddisfly larvae in experimental streams: Metal sensitivity, uptake pathways, and mixture toxicity
Conceptual and quantitative models were developed to assess time-dependent processes in four sequential experimental stream studies that determined abundances of natural communities of mayfly and caddisfly larvae dosed with single metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Zn) or multiple metals (Cd+Zn, Co+Cu, Cu+Ni, Cu+Zn, Ni+Zn, Cd+Cu+Zn, Co+Cu+Ni, Cu+Ni+Zn). Metal mixtures contained environmentally relevant metaAuthorsLaurie S. Balistrieri, Christopher A. Mebane, Travis S. SchmidtBiofilms provide new insight into pesticide occurrence in streams and links to aquatic ecological communities
Streambed sediment is commonly analyzed to assess occurrence of hydrophobic pesticides and risks to aquatic communities. However, stream biofilms also have the potential to accumulate pesticides and may be consumed by aquatic organisms. To better characterize risks to aquatic life, the U.S. Geological Survey Regional Stream Quality Assessment measured 93 current-use and 3 legacy pesticides in bedAuthorsBarbara Mahler, Travis S. Schmidt, Lisa H. Nowell, Sharon L. Qi, Peter C. Van Metre, Michelle Hladik, Daren M. Carlisle, Mark D. Munn, Jason MayBioaccumulation and toxicity of cadmium, copper, nickel, and zinc and their mixtures to aquatic insect communities
We describe 2 artificial stream experiments that exposed aquatic insect communities to zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and cadmium (year 2014) and to Zn, Cu, and nickel (year 2015). The testing strategy was to concurrently expose insect communities to single metals and mixtures. Single-metal tests were repeated to evaluate the reproducibility of the methods and year-to-year variability. Metals were strongAuthorsChristopher A. Mebane, Travis S. Schmidt, Janet L. Miller, Laurie S. BalistrieriProjected urban growth in the Southeastern USA puts small streams at risk
Future land-use development has the potential to profoundly affect the health of aquatic ecosystems in the coming decades. We developed regression models predicting the loss of sensitive fish (R2=0.39) and macroinvertebrate (R2=0.64) taxa as a function of urban and agricultural land uses and applied them to projected urbanization of the rapidly urbanizing Piedmont ecoregion of the southeastern USAuthorsPeter C. Van Metre, Ian R. Waite, Sharon L. Qi, Barbara Mahler, Adam Terando, Michael Wieczorek, Michael R. Meador, Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Travis S. Schmidt, Daren CarlisleBenthic algal (Periphyton) growth rates in response to nitrogen and phosphorus: Parameter estimation for water quality models
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are important pollutants that can stimulate nuisance blooms of algae. Water-quality models (e.g., WASP, CE-QUAL-R1, CE-QUAL-ICM, QUAL2k) are valuable and widely used management tools for algal accrual because of excess nutrients in the presence of other limiting factors. These models utilize the Monod and Droop equations to associate algal growth rate with dissolvedAuthorsTravis S. Schmidt, Christopher Konrad, Janet L. Miller, Stephen D. Whitlock, Craig A. StrickerLinking the agricultural landscape of the Midwest to stream health with structural equation modeling
Multiple physical and chemical stressors can simultaneously affect the biological condition of streams. To better understand the complex interactions of land-use practices, water quality, and ecological integrity of streams, the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Project is conducting regional-scale assessments of stream condition across the United States. In the summer of 20AuthorsTravis S. Schmidt, Peter C. Van Metre, Daren CarlisleUnderstanding the captivity effect on invertebrate communities transplanted into an experimental stream laboratory
Little is known about how design and testing methodologies affect the macroinvertebrate communities that are held captive in mesocosms. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a 32‐d test to determine how seeded invertebrate communities changed once removed from the natural stream and introduced to the laboratory. We evaluated larvae survival and adult emergence in controls from 4 subsequent sAuthorsTravis S. Schmidt, Holly Rogers, Janet L. Miller, Christopher A. Mebane, Laurie S. BalistrieriByEcosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Energy Resources Program, Environmental Health Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Colorado Water Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Idaho Water Science CenterQuantifying differences in responses of aquatic insects to trace metal exposure in field studies and short-term stream mesocosm experiments
Characterizing macroinvertebrate taxa as either sensitive or tolerant is of critical importance for investigating impacts of anthropogenic stressors in aquatic ecosystems and for inferring causality. However, our understanding of relative sensitivity of aquatic insects to metals in the field and under controlled conditions in the laboratory or mesocosm experiments is limited. In this study, we comAuthorsYuichi Iwasaki, Travis S. Schmidt, William H. ClementsDisentangling the effects of low pH and metal mixture toxicity on macroinvertebrate diversity
One of the primary goals of biological assessment of streams is to identify which of a suite of chemical stressors is limiting their ecological potential. Elevated metal concentrations in streams are often associated with low pH, yet the effects of these two potentially limiting factors of freshwater biodiversity are rarely considered to interact beyond the effects of pH on metal speciation. UsingAuthorsRiccardo Fornaroli, Alessio Ippolito, Mari J. Tolkkinen, Heikki Mykrä, Timo Muotka, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Travis S. SchmidtByEnergy and Minerals Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Energy Resources Program, Environmental Health Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Colorado Water Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science CenterComplex mixtures of dissolved pesticides show potential aquatic toxicity in a synoptic study of Midwestern U.S. streams
Aquatic organisms in streams are exposed to pesticide mixtures that vary in composition over time in response to changes in flow conditions, pesticide inputs to the stream, and pesticide fate and degradation within the stream. To characterize mixtures of dissolved-phase pesticides and degradates in Midwestern streams, a synoptic study was conducted at 100 streams during May–August 2013. In weeklyAuthorsLisa H. Nowell, Patrick W. Moran, Travis S. Schmidt, Julia E. Norman, Naomi Nakagaki, Megan E. Shoda, Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre, Wesley W. Stone, Mark W. Sandstrom, Michelle L. HladikThermal regimes of Rocky Mountain lakes warm with climate change
Anthropogenic climate change is causing a wide range of stresses in aquatic ecosystems, primarily through warming thermal conditions. Lakes, in response to these changes, are experiencing increases in both summer temperatures and ice-free days. We used continuous records of lake surface temperature and air temperature to create statistical models of daily mean lake surface temperature to assess thAuthorsJames Roberts, Kurt D. Fausch, Travis S. Schmidt, David M. WaltersMetamorphosis affects metal concentrations and isotopic signatures in a mayfly (Baetis tricaudatus): Implications for the aquatic-terrestrial transfer of metals
Insect metamorphosis often results in substantial chemical changes that can alter contaminant concentrations and fractionate isotopes. We exposed larval mayflies (Baetis tricaudatus) and their food (periphyton) to an aqueous zinc gradient (3-340 µg Zn/l) and measured zinc concentrations at different stages of metamorphosis: larval, subimago, and imago. We also measured changes in stable isotopes (AuthorsJeff S. Wesner, David Walters, Travis S. Schmidt, Johanna M. Kraus, Craig A. Stricker, William H. Clements, Ruth E. WolfNon-USGS Publications**
Stahl, Ralph G., Kapustka, Lawrence A., Munns, Wayne R., and Bruins, Randall J. F. 2007. Organizing and Integrating the Valuation Process. pp.129–163. DOI: 10.1201/9781420062632.ch6Church, S.E., R.B. Wanty, T.S. Schmidt, D.L. Fey, B.W. Rockwell, and C.A. San Juan. 2008. Environmental Assessment of Central Colorado-Effects of hydrothermal alteration on water and sediment quality. [abs.]. In: Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, November 16-20, 2008, Tampa, Florida, USA. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. p. 1.Church, S.E., D.L. Fey, T.L. Klein, T.S. Schmidt, R.B. Wanty, E.H. DeWitt, B.W. Rockwell, and C.A. San Juan. 2008. Environmental effects of hydrothermal alteration and historical mining on water and sediment quality in central Colorado. [pages in] In: The Third Interagency Conference on Research in Watersheds, September 8-11, 2008, Estes Park, Colorado, USA. p. 1.
Van Metre. (2022). Sediment Sources and Sealed-Pavement Area Drive Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon and Metal Occurrence in Urban Streams. Environmental Science & Technology., 56(3), 1615–1626. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c00414**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.
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