River Studies


Factors affecting Lake Sturgeon reproduction: the next step in recovery and management

As Missouri’s Lake Sturgeon population has begun to grow and mature, efforts have been made to identify critical habitats for various life stages. However, this information can be challenging to collect. Identifying spawning sites, site characteristics...

Development of a flexible mid-sized river habitat sampling protocol to complement fish protocols

Habitat assessments are crucial to monitor habitat changes over time, understand biological responses to changes, and overcome habitat deficits through restoration...

Evaluating the effectiveness of climate change adaptation strategies for inland fish and fisheries

Adaptation strategies for inland fish and fisheries is one tool managers can employ to help fisheries in a changing climate. Many of these adaptation strategies are used for other objectives related to river restoration but are seldom identified to counteract climate change effects on fish....

Assessment on the Interlinkages Among Biodiversity, Water, Food, and Health

Craig Paukert was selected as a Coordinating Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Nexus Assessment, which will develop a report to develop sustainable futures for people and nature. Craig will Co-Lead and international group assessing options for delivering sustainable approaches to water. The first meeting of the group was in Frankfurt, Germany in May 2022, but will continue to 2024 with the rollout of the Nexus Assessment to the 140 governments.

Collaborations with International Scientists on Inland Fisheries and River Conservation

Post-doctoral Researcher Ralph Tingley and Craig Paukert hosted a workshop of InFish, which is a group formed to raise the global profile of inland fish to inform policy, advance their conservation, and promote sustainable fisheries http://infish.org/.The three day workshop was was attended by over 25 students and scientists from around the worked (as far away as Australia!), with an additional 20 more scientists worldwide who attended virtually. The group had representation from over 10 universities from at least four countries, two US federal agencies, the United Nations (FAO), consulting groups, and non-governmental organizations. Some of the highlights were providing feedback to the NGO Conservation International on how they determine the effectiveness of conservation actions, and how they are developing strategies to empower small-scale fisheries in the Mekong River Basin.

Craig Paukert was invited by the Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher Yushun Chen to their Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) in Wuhan, China in October 2018 to work with his graduate students on river conservation issues. The collaboration included presentations by the IHB graduate students, and site visits to rivers and conservation centers in central China. These were initial efforts to develop long-term collaborations with the University of Missouri and the IHB at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Future plans include more trips to China, and possible student exchanges between Missouri and the IHB.

 

River Studies Research In the News

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**September 2023: Post Doc Needed: Decision Support for Biological Invasions**

A recent project that Craig Paukert is involved developed a story map about FiCli (Fish and Climate Change Database) was selected to the 2021 Esri Ocean, Weather and Climate GIS Forum and appears on their online gallery. The map gallery is an opportunity for story maps to reach broader audiences and allow for users to interact by commenting on the submissions and voting for maps that they like. To view the FiCli story can be found on the USGS website.

Craig Paukert caught the WORLD RECORD paddlfish (23 years too early!). On July 23, 2020, angler Cody Watters was fishing with Jeremiah Mefford of Reel Good Times Guide Service on Keystone Lake, Oklahoma, where he landed a new world record paddlefish of 151 pounds, 14.4 ounces. Upon further inspection, the fish had a jaw tag that Craig Paukert attached during in MS degree at Oklahoma State University. The fish was originally tagged on January 4, 1997 and weighed 7.7 pounds and was two years old. This was a fun story and a great lesson to take good notes and metatdata--it may come in handy 23 years later!

Craig Paukert and collaborators were highlighted for a 2020 paper published in Nature: Scientific Data of a searchable database on how climate change affects fishes.

Craig Paukert and Honors Undergraduate Student Cheyenne Stratton were briefly highlighted on the Mizzou Instagram feed about their collaboration. They were interviewed at the Honors Convocation at Mizzou in December 2018.

Craig Paukert gave a presentation at the Mississippi River-Yangtze River Symposium in Chengdu, China in October 2018. This was the third symposium where researchers from China and the US share knowledge and develop collaboration for research relevant to river and watershed conservation in the Mississippi River basin and Yangtze River basin.

Corey Dunn, PhD student, created a video of the fishes in an Ozark River, Missouri. The video has been posted on the IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group Facebook page in September 2018.

Craig Paukert received the Gold Chalk Award from the University of Missouri on April 25, 2018.  This award recognizes MU faculty who have made significant contributions to the education and training of graduate and professional students. Selection of award recipients is made by the Graduate Professional Council. This award is only given to four faculty throughout the University of Missouri each year.  Craig received the award in the category of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

Craig Paukert was part of a Congressional Staffer Briefing April 12, 2018 on the effects of extreme events (e.g., floods, drought, wildlife, and hurricanes) on fishes.  The briefing, hosted by Sen. Peters from Michigan and co-sponsored by USGS and the American Fisheries Society, was well received and addressed a diversity of questions from staffers related to working with partners, ensuring our science is relevant, Asian carp invasions, and water infrastructure.  

Corey Dunn (PhD student with Craig Paukert) received the Winemiller Excellence Fund Data Analytics Award at the University of Missouri. The award is given one faculty, research staff, or student for their excellence in analytics or quantitative analysis, and is facilitated through the Department of Statistics and Marketing. Corey received the award for his innovative tool to help fisheries managers select the appropriate sampling protocol to collect fishes under a variety of objectives. .

Research being conducted by graduate students Zach Morris and Mike Thomas of standardizing electrofishing for bass and catfish was highlighted in the August 2017 issue of the Missouri Conservationists (see page 4)

On June 13, 2016, Craig Paukert and former post doc James Whitney were part of a capitol hill briefing to congressional staffers how climate change may affect inland fish and fisheries.  The briefing was hosted by the American Fisheries Society and the US Geological Survey.  The story can be found here.

Craig Paukert and US Geological Survey collaborator Abigail Lynch were co-editors on the July 2016 special issue of Fisheries on climate change.  The issue features four primary peer reviewed manuscripts that were authors or coauthored by Paukert, Lynch, former MU post doc James Whitney, and many other collaborators.  The story can be found here.

Craig Paukert was recently interviewed for the Public News Service to discuss the impacts of climate change on Missouri fish and wildlife.  The story can be found here.

James Whitney, post-doctoral researcher, and Craig Paukert’s collaborative climate change and inland fish and fisheries projects has received national attention was on the front page of the USGS webpage in summer 2015.  The story can be found here.

In addition, Craig and James were featured as the ‘Collaborators of the Month’ in August 2015 in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources News.

Jacob Westhoff’s research was highlighted on the Star-Oddi newsletter as he used their tags to monitor temperature use of smallmouth bass.

The work of post-doctoral researchers Kristen Bouska, and Garth Linder, working with Craig Paukert and USGS collaborator Robb Jacobson were featured by the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources for their work on how climate change may affect floodplains of big rivers.