We are a scientific leader in aquatic species biology, genetics, toxicological and pathogenic disease, ecology, and population tracking and dynamics for at-risk aquatic species including native fish and their ecosystems.
Fish Research
Brook trout vulnerability to drought: eastern component of USGS national integrated ecohydrological research
Enabling AI for citizen science in fish biology
Webinar: Assessing the Impact of Future Climate and Introduced Species on Hawaiʻi's Aquatic Ecosystems
Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) - KFFS
Puget Sound Fall Chinook Estuarine Utilization
Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
Fish Passage Hydraulic Flume
Pesticides, Flame Retardants, and Mercury in Tissues from Columbia Basin Pacific Lamprey
Webinar: Predicted Climate Change Effects on Fisheries Habitat and Production in the Great Lakes
Explore our science using the data below.
The North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database (NAFMFD): Characterizing the migratory life histories of freshwater fishes of Canada, the United States, and Mexico
Aquatic Prey Resources in Response to Estuary Restoration in Willapa Bay, Washington (2014-2015)
Age, Trace Metal, Stable Isotope, and Fatty Acid Data Collected from Sturgeon Captured in the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2015-2016.
Image and biometric data for fish from Great Lakes tributaries collected during spring 2019
Water Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Measured During a Manipulative Thermal Challenge Experiment for Adult Salmonids, Yukon River, Alaska, 2018
Gene Transcription and Heat Shock Protein 70 Abundance Results from Migrating Adult Chinook Salmon, Yukon Watershed, 2016-2017
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an Effective Tool to Track Recolonizing Migratory Fish Following Large-Scale Dam Removal, field data
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS migratory fish research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS migratory fish publications is available from the button below.
Brief oil exposure reduces fitness in wild Gulf of Mexico mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)
One shell of a problem: Cumulative threat analysis of male sea turtles indicates high anthropogenic threat for migratory individuals and Gulf of Mexico residents
The North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database (NAFMFD): Characterizing the migratory life histories of freshwater fishes of Canada, the United States and Mexico
A climate-mediated shift in the estuarine habitat mosaic limits prey availability and reduces nursery quality for juvenile salmon
Factors affecting spatiotemporal variation in survival of endangered winter-run Chinook Salmon outmigrating from the Sacramento River
Reconnecting the Elwha River: Spatial patterns of fish response to dam removal
Culverts delay upstream and downstream migrations of river herring (Alosa spp.)
Survival and spawning success of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in varying temperatures and levels of glochidia infection
From drought to deluge: Spatiotemporal variation in migration routing, survival, travel time and floodplain use of an endangered migratory fish
Spatial and temporal distribution of radio-tagged Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) suckers in Clear Lake Reservoir and associated spawning tributaries, Northern California, 2015–17
Environmental factors influencing annual sucker (Catostomus sp.) migration into a Great Lakes tributary
Partial migration and spawning movements of humpback chub in the Little Colorado River are better understood using data from autonomous PIT tag antennas
Explore our science through the interactive tools below.
Arctic Rivers Project: Connecting Indigenous knowledge and western science to strengthen collective understanding of the changing Arctic
The Arctic Rivers Project will weave together Indigenous knowledges, monitoring, and the modeling of climate, rivers (flows, temperature, ice), and fish to improve understanding of how Arctic rivers, ice transportation corridors, fish, and communities might be impacted by and adapt to climate change.
Mercury in Freshwater Fish of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed—Story Map
The US Geological Survey (USGS), working with the partners in the watershed, compiled mercury data for freshwater fishes to understand how mercury concentrations, and risk to consumers, varies across the watershed.
BEST Large Rivers Monitoring Network (LRMN)
The Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program's Large River Monitoring Network (LRMN) has examined fish health in multiple river basins by using a suite of organismal and suborganismal endpoints, which monitor and assess the effects of environmental contaminants in fish.
Chinook Salmon Use of Eelgrass Habitats Skagit River Delta Washington
The degree to which eelgrass on river deltas provides critical habitat for estuarine fishes, especially out‐migrating juvenile salmon, is an important scientific and management issue that bears on efforts to conserve and restore both eelgrass and fish.
LTRM Spatial Data Query Tool
The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element has collected millions of records of information over 20+ years. Fisheries, water quality, vegetation, and invertebrates have all been sampled. Geographic locations were collected for all sampling points.
Explore our science using the software below.
Mercury Condition Index Tool
Data Retrieval and Graphing Using the LTRM Fish Catch GeoJSON Data Service
SPECRICH2
Estimates the total number of species from species presence-absence data on multiple sample sites or occasions using model M(h) from program CAPTURE.
See what's in the news!
We are a scientific leader in aquatic species biology, genetics, toxicological and pathogenic disease, ecology, and population tracking and dynamics for at-risk aquatic species including native fish and their ecosystems.
Fish Research
Brook trout vulnerability to drought: eastern component of USGS national integrated ecohydrological research
Enabling AI for citizen science in fish biology
Webinar: Assessing the Impact of Future Climate and Introduced Species on Hawaiʻi's Aquatic Ecosystems
Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) - KFFS
Puget Sound Fall Chinook Estuarine Utilization
Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
Fish Passage Hydraulic Flume
Pesticides, Flame Retardants, and Mercury in Tissues from Columbia Basin Pacific Lamprey
Webinar: Predicted Climate Change Effects on Fisheries Habitat and Production in the Great Lakes
Explore our science using the data below.
The North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database (NAFMFD): Characterizing the migratory life histories of freshwater fishes of Canada, the United States, and Mexico
Aquatic Prey Resources in Response to Estuary Restoration in Willapa Bay, Washington (2014-2015)
Age, Trace Metal, Stable Isotope, and Fatty Acid Data Collected from Sturgeon Captured in the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2015-2016.
Image and biometric data for fish from Great Lakes tributaries collected during spring 2019
Water Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Measured During a Manipulative Thermal Challenge Experiment for Adult Salmonids, Yukon River, Alaska, 2018
Gene Transcription and Heat Shock Protein 70 Abundance Results from Migrating Adult Chinook Salmon, Yukon Watershed, 2016-2017
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an Effective Tool to Track Recolonizing Migratory Fish Following Large-Scale Dam Removal, field data
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS migratory fish research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS migratory fish publications is available from the button below.
Brief oil exposure reduces fitness in wild Gulf of Mexico mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)
One shell of a problem: Cumulative threat analysis of male sea turtles indicates high anthropogenic threat for migratory individuals and Gulf of Mexico residents
The North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database (NAFMFD): Characterizing the migratory life histories of freshwater fishes of Canada, the United States and Mexico
A climate-mediated shift in the estuarine habitat mosaic limits prey availability and reduces nursery quality for juvenile salmon
Factors affecting spatiotemporal variation in survival of endangered winter-run Chinook Salmon outmigrating from the Sacramento River
Reconnecting the Elwha River: Spatial patterns of fish response to dam removal
Culverts delay upstream and downstream migrations of river herring (Alosa spp.)
Survival and spawning success of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in varying temperatures and levels of glochidia infection
From drought to deluge: Spatiotemporal variation in migration routing, survival, travel time and floodplain use of an endangered migratory fish
Spatial and temporal distribution of radio-tagged Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) suckers in Clear Lake Reservoir and associated spawning tributaries, Northern California, 2015–17
Environmental factors influencing annual sucker (Catostomus sp.) migration into a Great Lakes tributary
Partial migration and spawning movements of humpback chub in the Little Colorado River are better understood using data from autonomous PIT tag antennas
Explore our science through the interactive tools below.
Arctic Rivers Project: Connecting Indigenous knowledge and western science to strengthen collective understanding of the changing Arctic
The Arctic Rivers Project will weave together Indigenous knowledges, monitoring, and the modeling of climate, rivers (flows, temperature, ice), and fish to improve understanding of how Arctic rivers, ice transportation corridors, fish, and communities might be impacted by and adapt to climate change.
Mercury in Freshwater Fish of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed—Story Map
The US Geological Survey (USGS), working with the partners in the watershed, compiled mercury data for freshwater fishes to understand how mercury concentrations, and risk to consumers, varies across the watershed.
BEST Large Rivers Monitoring Network (LRMN)
The Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program's Large River Monitoring Network (LRMN) has examined fish health in multiple river basins by using a suite of organismal and suborganismal endpoints, which monitor and assess the effects of environmental contaminants in fish.
Chinook Salmon Use of Eelgrass Habitats Skagit River Delta Washington
The degree to which eelgrass on river deltas provides critical habitat for estuarine fishes, especially out‐migrating juvenile salmon, is an important scientific and management issue that bears on efforts to conserve and restore both eelgrass and fish.
LTRM Spatial Data Query Tool
The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element has collected millions of records of information over 20+ years. Fisheries, water quality, vegetation, and invertebrates have all been sampled. Geographic locations were collected for all sampling points.
Explore our science using the software below.
Mercury Condition Index Tool
Data Retrieval and Graphing Using the LTRM Fish Catch GeoJSON Data Service
SPECRICH2
Estimates the total number of species from species presence-absence data on multiple sample sites or occasions using model M(h) from program CAPTURE.
See what's in the news!