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Water Use in Florida, 2005 and Trends 1950-2005

Water is among Florida's most valued resources. The State has more than 1,700 streams and rivers, 7,800 freshwater lakes, 700 springs, 11 million acres of wetlands, and underlying aquifers yielding quantities of freshwater necessary for both human and environmental needs (Fernald and Purdum, 1998). Although renewable, these water resources are More...

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Evaluation of Potentially Nonlethal Sampling Methods for Monitoring Mercury Concentrations in Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu)

This project is an evaluation of three potentially nonlethal alternatives to fillet sampling for the determination of mercury (Hg) concentrations in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) to monitor mercury concentrations in smallmouth bass (micropterus dolomieu) from six sites in southern Missouri were captured by electrofishing. Blood samples More...

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Fisheries Investigations for Lost River and Shortnose Suckers in Upper Klamath Lake

The value of this long-term monitoring program will provide data crucial for understanding demographic and reproductive characteristics of these endangered sucker populations. This research will have wide applicability to federal, state, and tribal agencies in the basin for management and recovery efforts.

  • Biologist holding female Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus)

Preyfish Population Assessment

In 2002, scientists from the Great Lakes Science Center assessed the health of the populations of preyfish for the biennial State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) to provide information to policy makers on the status of the lakes and future needs. Preyfish population is one of the 80 indicators used by SOLEC to determine the health of the More...

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Fish Passage through Dams in Large Temperate Floodplain Rivers: An Annotated Bibliography

This report describes an electronic database containing 474 annotated citations that are relevant to fish passage through dams in large temperate floodplain rivers. The goal of this project was to survey the literature to help define the potential ecological consequences of restricted fish passage through dams in the Upper Mississippi River System More...

  • Upper Mississippi River dam

Bioaccumulation and Effects of PCBs on Tree Swallows Nesting along the Housatonic River, Massachusetts

Research at the Upper Midwest Environmental Center, which gathered detailed observations on tree swallow nesting success and contaminant concentrations in 1998-2000, to guide EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in effectively managing the risk of chemical contaminants to wildlife and the environment.

  • Warning sign near the Housatonic River

Bioaccumulation of Mercury by Fish and Fish-forage Organisms in Camp Far West Reservoir, Yuba and Placer Counties, California

Mercury contamination from historic gold mining operations is widespread in many rivers, lakes, and reservoirs on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. A multidisciplinary investigation by USGS is attempting to better understand mercury dynamics and to identify hot spots within Camp Far West Reservoir in order to determine if remediation More...

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Persistence of organochlorine chemical residues in fish from the Tombigbee River (Alabama, USA): Continuing risk to wildlife from a former DDT manufacturing facility

Organochlorine pesticide and total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations were measured in largemouth bass from the Tombigbee River near a former DDT manufacturing facility at McIntosh, Alabama. Concentrations of DDT isomers in McIntosh bass remained unchanged from 1974 to 2004 and were four times greater than contemporary concentrations More...

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Heritability of Disease Resistance and Immune Function in Chinook Salmon, with Special Emphasis on Broodstock Culling to Control Bacterial Kidney Disease

Many diseases of trout and salmon persist in our cultured fish stocks today, despite improvements in fish culture practices and years of research on vaccines and chemotherapeutants. An excellent example is bacterial kidney disease (BKD), caused by the bacterium Renibacterium salmoninarum. Infections by R. salmoninarum are considered by many to be More...

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Effects of Swimming and Exhaustive Stress in Pacific Lamprey (Lampetra tridentata)

A management decision was made in 1994 to increase survival of migrating juvenile salmon by increasing the proportion of river water and fish passed via spill at Snake and Columbia river dams. One result of this action was an increase in dissolved gas supersaturation, which can lead to gas bubble disease in fish. This disease can lead to More...

  • Image of as bubbles in gill filaments.

Eurasian Ruffe

Eurasian Ruffe pose a threat to native fish because they(1) mature quickly, (2) have a high reproductive capacity, and (3) easily adapt to new environments. Ruffe were first detected in western Lake Superior in 1986. UMESC scientists are conducting research on various types of piscicides (chemicals that kill fish). They are attempting to develop More...

  • Eurasian ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus)

Estuary Utilization by Juvenile Chinook Salmon

Little is known about the importance of estuarine habitats for juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), hence managers are uncertain of the appropriate levels of protection for such habitats. Research to determine the length of residence and growth of juvenile chinook salmon in the Skagit River estuary will indicate the importance of More...

  • Tidal channels in the estuarine emergent marsh provide food and habitat for juvenile chinook salmon.