Leandro Miranda, PhD
Unit Leader - Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Research Interests
Fish populations and fish communities in reservoirs and floodplain lakes
Teaching Interests
Fisheries science and management of standing water bodies and their watersheds
Professional Experience
Unit Leader, Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2020-
Assistant Unit Leader, Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 1986-2019
Education and Certifications
Ph D Mississippi State University 1986
MS Auburn University 1981
BS Morehead State University 1977
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 73
Size of age-0 crappies (Pomoxis spp.) relative to reservoir habitats and water levels
Variable year-class strength is common in crappie Pomoxis spp. populations in many reservoirs, yet the mechanisms behind this variability are poorly understood. Size-dependent mortality of age-0 fishes has long been recognized in the population ecology literature; however, investigations about the effects of environmental factors on age-0 crappie size are lacking. The objective of this study was t
Authors
Levi J. Kaczka, Leandro E. Miranda
Environmental variables measured at multiple spatial scales exert uneven influence on fish assemblages of floodplain lakes
We examined the interaction between environmental variables measured at three different scales (i.e., landscape, lake, and in-lake) and fish assemblage descriptors across a range of over 50 floodplain lakes in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Mississippi and Arkansas. Our goal was to identify important local- and landscape-level determinants of fish assemblage structure. Relationships between fi
Authors
Daniel J. Dembkowski, Leandro E. Miranda
Links between riparian landcover, instream environment and fish assemblages in headwater streams of south-eastern Brazil
We hypothesised and tested a hierarchical organisation model where riparian landcover would influence bank composition and light availability, which in turn would influence instream environments and control fish assemblages. The study was conducted during the dry season in 11 headwater tributaries of the Sorocaba River in the upper Paraná River Basin, south-eastern Brazil. We focused on seven envi
Authors
Bruna B. Cruz, Leandro E. Miranda, Mauricio Cetra
Evaluating changes to reservoir rule curves using historical water-level data
Flood control reservoirs are typically managed through rule curves (i.e. target water levels) which control the storage and release timing of flood waters. Changes to rule curves are often contemplated and requested by various user groups and management agencies with no information available about the actual flood risk of such requests. Methods of estimating flood risk in reservoirs are not easily
Authors
Ethan Mower, Leandro E. Miranda
Frameworks for amending reservoir water management
Managing water storage and withdrawals in many reservoirs requires establishing seasonal targets for water levels (i.e., rule curves) that are influenced by regional precipitation and diverse water demands. Rule curves are established as an attempt to balance various water needs such as flood control, irrigation, and environmental benefits such as fish and wildlife management. The processes and ch
Authors
Ethan Mower, Leandro E. Miranda
Gradients of microhabitat and crappie (Pomoxis spp.) distributions in reservoir coves
Embayments are among the most widespread littoral habitats found in Mississippi flood-control reservoirs. These macrohabitats represent commonly used nursery zones for age-0 crappies, Pomoxis spp., despite barren and eroded shorelines formed over 60–70 years of annual water level fluctuations. We tested if embayments displayed microhabitat gradients linked to the effect of water level fluctuations
Authors
Levi J. Kaczka, Leandro E. Miranda
Water levels shape fishing participation in flood-control reservoirs
We examined the relationship between fishing effort (hours fished) and average March–May water level in 3 flood control reservoirs in Mississippi. Fishing effort increased as water level rose, peaked at intermediate water levels, and decreased at high water levels. We suggest that the observed arched-shaped relationship is driven by the shifting influence of fishability (adequacy of the fishing ci
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, K. O. Meals
Fish assemblages in borrow-pit lakes of the Lower Mississippi River
Borrow-pit lakes encompass about a third of the lentic water habitats (by area) in the active floodplain of the Lower Mississippi River, yet little is known about their fish assemblages. We investigated whether fish assemblages supported by borrow-pit lakes resembled those in oxbow lakes to help place the ecological relevance of borrow-pit lakes in context with that of natural floodplain lakes. In
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, K. J. Killgore, J.J. Hoover
Interactions between striped bass and other gamefish in reservoirs
Competitive interactions among reservoir fishes may be pronounced because fish assemblages in these artificial environments have had little time to develop niche-partitioning strategies that alleviate negative interspecific interactions. Such interactions may at times have been intensified by introductions of predators such as striped bass Morone saxatilis, introduced to create additional fisherie
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, Scott W. Raborn
Connectedness of land use, nutrients, primary production, and fish assemblages in oxbow lakes
We explored the strength of connectedness among hierarchical system components associated with oxbow lakes in the alluvial valley of the Lower Mississippi River. Specifically, we examined the degree of canonical correlation between land use (agriculture and forests), lake morphometry (depth and size), nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), primary production (chlorophyll-a), and various
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, Caroline S. Andrews, Robert Kroger
Backwaters in the upper reaches of reservoirs produce high densities of age-0 crappies
Reservoir backwaters are aquatic habitats in floodplains of reservoir tributaries that are permanently or periodically flooded by the reservoir. Like many reservoir arms, backwaters are commonly shallow, littoral habitats, but they differ from arms in various respects, including their support of primarily wetland plant assemblages that are tolerant to flooding. Elsewhere, the reservoir floods main
Authors
Jonah D. Dagel, Leandro E. Miranda
Responding to peer review and editor’s comments: Chapter 10
No abstract available.
Authors
Harold Schramm, Leandro E. Miranda
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 73
Size of age-0 crappies (Pomoxis spp.) relative to reservoir habitats and water levels
Variable year-class strength is common in crappie Pomoxis spp. populations in many reservoirs, yet the mechanisms behind this variability are poorly understood. Size-dependent mortality of age-0 fishes has long been recognized in the population ecology literature; however, investigations about the effects of environmental factors on age-0 crappie size are lacking. The objective of this study was t
Authors
Levi J. Kaczka, Leandro E. Miranda
Environmental variables measured at multiple spatial scales exert uneven influence on fish assemblages of floodplain lakes
We examined the interaction between environmental variables measured at three different scales (i.e., landscape, lake, and in-lake) and fish assemblage descriptors across a range of over 50 floodplain lakes in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Mississippi and Arkansas. Our goal was to identify important local- and landscape-level determinants of fish assemblage structure. Relationships between fi
Authors
Daniel J. Dembkowski, Leandro E. Miranda
Links between riparian landcover, instream environment and fish assemblages in headwater streams of south-eastern Brazil
We hypothesised and tested a hierarchical organisation model where riparian landcover would influence bank composition and light availability, which in turn would influence instream environments and control fish assemblages. The study was conducted during the dry season in 11 headwater tributaries of the Sorocaba River in the upper Paraná River Basin, south-eastern Brazil. We focused on seven envi
Authors
Bruna B. Cruz, Leandro E. Miranda, Mauricio Cetra
Evaluating changes to reservoir rule curves using historical water-level data
Flood control reservoirs are typically managed through rule curves (i.e. target water levels) which control the storage and release timing of flood waters. Changes to rule curves are often contemplated and requested by various user groups and management agencies with no information available about the actual flood risk of such requests. Methods of estimating flood risk in reservoirs are not easily
Authors
Ethan Mower, Leandro E. Miranda
Frameworks for amending reservoir water management
Managing water storage and withdrawals in many reservoirs requires establishing seasonal targets for water levels (i.e., rule curves) that are influenced by regional precipitation and diverse water demands. Rule curves are established as an attempt to balance various water needs such as flood control, irrigation, and environmental benefits such as fish and wildlife management. The processes and ch
Authors
Ethan Mower, Leandro E. Miranda
Gradients of microhabitat and crappie (Pomoxis spp.) distributions in reservoir coves
Embayments are among the most widespread littoral habitats found in Mississippi flood-control reservoirs. These macrohabitats represent commonly used nursery zones for age-0 crappies, Pomoxis spp., despite barren and eroded shorelines formed over 60–70 years of annual water level fluctuations. We tested if embayments displayed microhabitat gradients linked to the effect of water level fluctuations
Authors
Levi J. Kaczka, Leandro E. Miranda
Water levels shape fishing participation in flood-control reservoirs
We examined the relationship between fishing effort (hours fished) and average March–May water level in 3 flood control reservoirs in Mississippi. Fishing effort increased as water level rose, peaked at intermediate water levels, and decreased at high water levels. We suggest that the observed arched-shaped relationship is driven by the shifting influence of fishability (adequacy of the fishing ci
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, K. O. Meals
Fish assemblages in borrow-pit lakes of the Lower Mississippi River
Borrow-pit lakes encompass about a third of the lentic water habitats (by area) in the active floodplain of the Lower Mississippi River, yet little is known about their fish assemblages. We investigated whether fish assemblages supported by borrow-pit lakes resembled those in oxbow lakes to help place the ecological relevance of borrow-pit lakes in context with that of natural floodplain lakes. In
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, K. J. Killgore, J.J. Hoover
Interactions between striped bass and other gamefish in reservoirs
Competitive interactions among reservoir fishes may be pronounced because fish assemblages in these artificial environments have had little time to develop niche-partitioning strategies that alleviate negative interspecific interactions. Such interactions may at times have been intensified by introductions of predators such as striped bass Morone saxatilis, introduced to create additional fisherie
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, Scott W. Raborn
Connectedness of land use, nutrients, primary production, and fish assemblages in oxbow lakes
We explored the strength of connectedness among hierarchical system components associated with oxbow lakes in the alluvial valley of the Lower Mississippi River. Specifically, we examined the degree of canonical correlation between land use (agriculture and forests), lake morphometry (depth and size), nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), primary production (chlorophyll-a), and various
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, Caroline S. Andrews, Robert Kroger
Backwaters in the upper reaches of reservoirs produce high densities of age-0 crappies
Reservoir backwaters are aquatic habitats in floodplains of reservoir tributaries that are permanently or periodically flooded by the reservoir. Like many reservoir arms, backwaters are commonly shallow, littoral habitats, but they differ from arms in various respects, including their support of primarily wetland plant assemblages that are tolerant to flooding. Elsewhere, the reservoir floods main
Authors
Jonah D. Dagel, Leandro E. Miranda
Responding to peer review and editor’s comments: Chapter 10
No abstract available.
Authors
Harold Schramm, Leandro E. Miranda