Southeast Ecological Science Center

Freshwater Fauna

Candy Darter - Etheostoma osburni (photo credit: Noel Burkhead)

The Southeast has an astounding diversity of aquatic species, a rapidly growing human population, and increasing threats to aquatic habitats and biological resources. The Center has substantial expertise in the study and conservation of the southeastern aquatic fauna, including freshwater, anadromous, and estuarine fishes, unionid mussels, and the stream habitats where they occur. SESC scientists are recruited regularly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Defense, National Park Service, state agencies, and other clients to provide critical information necessary to assess the status of this diversity and support management actions. A growing database on distribution, abundance, and threats to survival is invaluable for successful conservation efforts.

Current Research

Extinct North American Freshwater Fishes

Imperiled Freshwater Organisms of North America

Okaloosa Darter Population Monitoring

Springflows and the Ecology of Karst Aquatic Communities

Contact information:

SESC | Freshwater Fauna

Products

Micheal S. Allen, Mark W. Rogers, Matthew J. Catalano, Daniel C. Gwinn, and Stephen J. Walsh. 2013. Assessing the Potential for the Angling of Nesting Males to Influence Largemouth Bass Recruitment Should Consider the Quality of Nesting Individuals: Response to Comment by J.J. Parkos III, D.H. Wahl, and D.P. Philipp. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 142(2):419-421. [Journal Abstract]

Burkhead NM. 2012. Extinction rates in North American freshwater fishes, 1900 to 2010. BioScience 62(9): 798-808.

Ward LW, Blum MJ, Walters DM, Porter BA, Burkhead N, Freeman B. 2012. Discordant introgression in a rapidly expanding hybrid swarm. Evolutionary Applications 2012: 380-392.

Sulak, K. J., J. J. Berg, and M. Randall. 2012. Feeding habitats of the Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, in the Suwannee and Yellow rivers, Florida, as identified by multiple stable isotope analyses. Environmental Biology of Fishes 95(2):237-258.

Burgess, O. T., Pine, W. E. and Walsh, S. J. (2012), Importance of Floodplain Connectivity to Fish Populations in the Apalachicola River, Florida. River Res. Applic.. doi: 10.1002/rra.2567. [Journal Abstract]

Guidelines for Quality Assurance and Quality Control of Fish Taxonomic Data Collected as Part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program

Conservation of Southeastern Mussels

Freshwater Macrofauna of Florida Karst Habitats

The Gulf Sturgeon in the Suwannee River - Questions and Answers

Gulf Sturgeon Facts

Preserving Gulf Sturgeon - A Fish Tale of Gargantuan Proportions

Quantitative assessment of benthic food resources for juvenile Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River estuary, Florida, USA

Yellow River Sturgeon Research

The Case of the Red Shiner: What Happens When a Fish Goes Bad?

Logperches: Masters of the Stone

Biographies of Southeastern Freshwater Fishes

Photo Galleries: Fish | Sturgeon | Mussels