Fish and Aquatic Species

The emerging field of Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis allows characterization of species presence and community biodiversity by identifying trace amounts of genetic material left behind as organisms move through their environments. EESC scientists have been using eDNA technologies to detect native and rare species and as community biomonitoring tools.

There are more than 92,000 dams in the United States, of which at least 3% of these produce hydropower. Hydropower projects create renewable energy but also can alter habitats, restrict upstream and downstream movements of fishes and other aquatic organisms, and may stress, injure or kill migrant fishes and other aquatic organisms. In addition, there are more than 5 million culverts and other road...

A new study aims to collect information on sturgeon temporal and spatial distribution to inform offshore wind energy and sand leasing operations.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Eastern Ecological Science Center is home to the Northeast Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (NEARMI), one of 7 ARMI regions across the United States. NEARMI works on public lands in thirteen states from Maine to Virginia, including many National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges.

Issue: Climate change is warming streams and rivers of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and this is a critical concern for fisheries management and conservation. To address this issue, the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) recently identified four actions: • address the threats of climate change in all aspects of the partnership’s work; • prioritize communities, working lands, and most vulnerable habitats...

There is a growing and urgent need to develop and implement innovative strategies to research, monitor, and manage freshwater resources as societal demands escalate simultaneously with climate-driven changes in water availability.

Eastern Ecological Science Center research ecologists are working with state and local partners to develop multiple biological assessments of non-tidal stream and river conditions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program partners are striving to improve habitat conditions for recreational fisheries and other native fishes in the Bay and its watershed. While national fish habitat assessments have been conducted, resource managers need more local information to focus restoration and protection efforts in Chesapeake Bay watershed. Conducting the fish-habitat assessments are...

Collaboration between the world-class expertise of USGS scientists, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Science Program, and state and federal fishery agencies demonstrates the power of partnerships to solve seemingly-insurmountable problems in sustainable and cooperative management of Atlantic coastal fisheries.

American Shad ( Alosa sapidissima ), Blueback Herring ( Alosa aestivalis ), and Alewife ( Alosa pseudoharengus ; collectively “alosines”) once supported large fisheries along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. However, impassable migration barriers, declines in habitat quality, and exploitation have led to declines in many spawning populations. Substantial resources have been invested to support the...

Amphibian surveys are being conducted on select National Wildlife Refuges with active and/or legacy oil mining to determine species relative distribution and their risk to short- and long-term effects from exposure to crude oil and its byproducts.

Research biologists at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge are conducting a series of scientific studies on the potential effects of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing activities on terrestrial wildlife. Findings will help in assessing proposals for managing recycling and distribution of large volumes of flowback and produced waters generated by methods of...