Location, location, location: Habitat quality affects stress in fish
Aquatic habitat degradation is an increasing problem as we continue to encroach on aquatic ecosystems for industrial, agricultural, and urban expansion. These ventures cause increased levels of pollutants, nutrients, and […]
Improving our understanding of stream fish habitat by including lakes in modelling
Fisheries scientists often rely upon models to assess various aspects of fish populations, such as fish habitat in streams. An understanding of fish habitat quality is vital in determining the […]
Changing climate threatens Walleye, benefits Largemouth Bass
Our climate is changing, but it can be difficult to understand the scope and scale of that change when presented with statistics that address long-term trends. For example, we know […]
AFS FHS Celebrates EFH at RAE8-TCS25 in NOLA
Can’t quite digest that over-sized serving of acronym soup? Let me translate as you need to know what your Fish Habitat Section (FHS) was up to earlier this month. The […]
Lake Baikal: The Deepest Lake in the World Heading Towards Deep Trouble
Estimated at about 25 million years old and containing 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, Lake Baikal is nestled in a rather remote area of Russian wilderness (Skylarov et al., […]
Multi-sector landscape planning can meet large-scale conservation challenges facing grassland birds and Gulf coast shrimp
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the nation’s greatest natural resources. Harboring over 50% of our coastal wetlands, the Gulf hosts a multitude of critical species and habitats in […]
When Federal Policy Protects Habitat
In May 2000, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13158 establishing the federal framework for marine protected areas within U.S. waters. This built upon previous legislation including the National Marine Sanctuaries […]
Fish in hot water: Power plant lakes forecast the impacts of climate change
Freshwater fish habitat quality has come under many threats, including nutrient loading, water diversion for agriculture, and contamination, among others. In addition to these more immediate concerns, climate change is […]
The many faced monster of a rapidly changing Antarctic ecosystem and its influence on Antarctic silverfish
Antarctica, the coldest, driest and windiest continent, is a relatively untouched ecosystem. However, global climate patterns can interact in interesting ways to result in strange patterns in ice at the […]
Time for reflection: Does stream restoration work?
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. For decades, we have tried to improve stream health, but rarely reflect on whether our efforts were successful! Looking back is […]
Watersheds as state infrastructure – California moves to recognizes natural freshwater resources as integral component of municipal water supplies
In Governor Brown’s Approval of bill AB2480, California took a major step in making its expansive water supply system even larger by including source watersheds within its water infrastructure management and […]
A behavioural barrier to keep young fish out of risky environments
Rivers provide us with many important services, including hydroelectricity and irrigation. These services sometimes require physical alterations to the river, such as the implementation of dams or changes to water […]
Impact of a dam removal on fish habitat
Dams can have a negative impact on fish habitat by altering fish passage and spawning sites. Compared to large high-profile dam removal, small run-of-river dam removals in small upland catchment […]
Does maintenance of agricultural ditches impact fish that live there?
Drainage ditches at the edges of farm fields are a common sight. We drive along side these ditches and cross them as they travel through culverts under the road. Most […]
Fish habitat loss and future efforts towards habitat restoration
Native fish communities of large rivers are on declining due to increasing human interference and natural forces (eg. flood). The science of fish habitat restoration is began with a relatively […]
Potential spawning habitat for endangered shortnose sturgeon
Catherine Johnston’s interest in ecology and fisheries research inspired her to pursue a Master of Science degree at the University of Maine studying how the recent removal of two dams […]
Finding the best model to predict fish distribution
Accurate knowledge of fish distribution and preferred habitat is crucial to managing fisheries using an ecosystem-based management approach. For many fisheries, however, it is difficult to obtain information regarding the […]
Warming Freshwaters: How could rising global mean temperatures affect North American fish populations?
Under the current climate change regime, mean global air temperatures are predicted to increase over the next hundred years, with some models estimating as much as a 6.4 oC increase worldwide. This warming […]
How many Asian carp does it take to establish a reproductive population in the Laurentian Great Lakes?
There has been growing attention recently about a possible new threat to the Laurentian Great Lakes ecosystem: the invasive Asian carp. You may have even seen footage of these large […]
The Hidden Story: Using Genetics to Understand Habitat Restoration Success
In the absence of fortune-telling, how can one predict the long-term consequences of habitat restoration efforts for fish? Fish habitat restoration is a major focus around the world, taking many […]
