Aida Farag, PhD
Dr. Aїda Farag is the Project Leader at the Columbia Environmental Research Center’s, Jackson Field Research Station.
She focuses on 3 research areas: 1) The potential effects of oil and gas activities on aquatic life and is the Co-Lead for the Environmental Health Mission Area – Energy Project. This project includes 35 researchers and 65 external partners from universities, state agencies, and other federal agencies focusing research on source mobility, pathways to the environment, resilience/restoration, and beneficial reuse. 2) Restoration of Contaminated and Impaired Ecosystems. Dr. Farag convened an international workshop in 2014 and continues to advance the science of putting restoration goals upfront. 3) Fish physiology to complement toxicological investigations and Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration assistance. She uses a multifaceted approach to define not only changes at the level of the individual fish but to relate those changes to population structures in the field.
Professional Experience
2000 - present Research Fishery Biologist, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Project Leader, Jackson Field Research Station, Jackson, Wyoming.
1994 - 2000 Research Fishery Biologist, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Assistant Project Leader Jackson Field Research Station, Jackson, Wyoming.
1994 - 2000 Research Fishery Biologist, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Assistant Project Leader Jackson Field Research Station, Jackson, Wyoming.
1994 - 1994 Post-doctoral Research Associate, Wyoming Cooperative Research Unit.
1988 - 1993 Research Associate and PhD candidate, University Wyoming, Dept. of Zoology and Physiology.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1993. U.S. Department of Energy Fellowship
M.S. Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1988.
B.S. Environmental Health Management; Indiana University, Bloomington, 1981.
Affiliations and Memberships*
1985 - present, Member of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
1998 - present, Adjunct Faculty, University of Wyoming, Department of Zoology and Physiology.
2004 - present, Member of the Society of Ecological Restoration
2007 - present, Member Editorial Board Restoration Ecology, an international journal.
2011 - 2015, Member Board of Directors, Society of Restoration Ecology
2011 - 2015, Member Science and Policy Committee, Society of Ecological Restoration
2016 - present, Science Team about Energy and Plains and Potholes (STEPPE)
2019 - present, Bakken Federal Executive Group – Natural Resources Subcommittee (BFEG)
2020 - present, Research Associate Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative
2020 - present, Plant Interest Group Steering Committee, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Science and Products
Transforming ecosystems: When, where, and how to restore contaminated sites
Assessment of surface water chloride and conductivity trends in areas of unconventional oil and gas development — Why existing national data sets cannot tell us what we would like to know
Ecological risks of shale oil and gas development to wildlife, aquatic resources and their habitats
In situ and laboratory toxicity of coalbed natural gas produced waters with elevated sodium bicarbonate
A review of environmental impacts of salts from produced waters on aquatic resources
Acute toxicity of sodium bicarbonate, a major component of coal bed natural gas produced waters, to 13 aquatic species as defined in the laboratory
The chronic toxicity of sodium bicarbonate, a major component of coal bed natural gas produced waters
Mercury and selenium concentrations in biofilm, macroinvertebrates, and fish collected in the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho, USA, and their potential effects on fish health
The potential effects of sodium bicarbonate, a major constituent from coalbed natural gas production, on aquatic life
Potential effects of coalbed natural gas development on fish and aquatic resources
Potential effects of coal bed natural gas development on fish and aquatic resources
Trout density and health in a stream with variable water temperatures and trace element concentrations: does a cold-water source attract trout to increased metal exposure?
Science and Products
Transforming ecosystems: When, where, and how to restore contaminated sites
Assessment of surface water chloride and conductivity trends in areas of unconventional oil and gas development — Why existing national data sets cannot tell us what we would like to know
Ecological risks of shale oil and gas development to wildlife, aquatic resources and their habitats
In situ and laboratory toxicity of coalbed natural gas produced waters with elevated sodium bicarbonate
A review of environmental impacts of salts from produced waters on aquatic resources
Acute toxicity of sodium bicarbonate, a major component of coal bed natural gas produced waters, to 13 aquatic species as defined in the laboratory
The chronic toxicity of sodium bicarbonate, a major component of coal bed natural gas produced waters
Mercury and selenium concentrations in biofilm, macroinvertebrates, and fish collected in the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho, USA, and their potential effects on fish health
The potential effects of sodium bicarbonate, a major constituent from coalbed natural gas production, on aquatic life
Potential effects of coalbed natural gas development on fish and aquatic resources
Potential effects of coal bed natural gas development on fish and aquatic resources
Trout density and health in a stream with variable water temperatures and trace element concentrations: does a cold-water source attract trout to increased metal exposure?
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government