Dr. Clint Muhlfeld

Research interests:

Clint Muhlfeld is a Research Aquatic Ecologist for the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey. He is stationed at Glacier National Park, Montana and is a faculty affiliate at the University of Montana and Montana State University. Clint’s research has focused on various aspects of aquatic ecology, fisheries biology, and conservation of native aquatic biota. His published research spans a range of research questions and conservation issues from examining the impacts of hybridization and competition between native and non-native salmonids, to assessing life history diversity and genetic structure of native fishes, to investigating the impacts of hydroelectric dams on aquatic ecosystems, and to developing quantitative bioenergetics and population viability models for fish populations and aquatic communities. He received a Ph.D. in Fish and Wildlife Biology from Montana State University in 2008, M.S. degree in Fishery Resources from the University of Idaho in 1999, and B.S. in Aquatic Biology from the University of Montana in 1994. Clint mentors and teaches undergraduate and graduate students interested in aquatic ecology and biology, and advises graduate students working on his aquatics research program. He is the former President of the Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, former Chair of the Resident Fish Committee of the Columbia River drainage, and currently serves on the Montana governor’s advisory board for invasive species. Clint has held several research positions with state and federal agencies in Montana and Oregon, and is currently active in several regional, national, and international science teams that address native fish conservation and aquatic resource issues.

Expertise:

• Conservation biology of native fishes
• Invasive aquatic species
• Hybridization among native and nonnative salmonids
• Climate change effects on aquatic ecosystems
• Fish habitat relationships
• Life history and movement of native salmonids
• Restoration ecology
• Instream flow management for native salmonids
• Bioenergetics modeling of aquatic ecosystems

Professional experience:

• 2007-present. Research Aquatic Ecologist, USGS-Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Glacier Field Station, Glacier National Park
• Spring 2007. Instructor, Montana State University: Principles of Fish and Wildlife Management (F&WL 301)
• 1999-2007. Fisheries Research Biologist, Montana, Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Kalispell