Diet composition and resource overlap of sympatric native and introduced salmonids across neighboring streams during a peak discharge event.

Species assemblages composed of non-native and native fishes are found in freshwater systems throughout the world, and interactions such as interspecific competition that may negatively affect native species are expected when non-native species are present. In the Smith River watershed, Montana, rainbow trout were introduced by 1930. Native mountain whitefish and non-native rainbow trout have presumably occurred in sympatry since the introduction of rainbow trout; however, knowledge about how these two species compete with one another for food resources is sparse.

Landscape assessment of side channel plugs and associated cumulative side channel attrition across a large river floodplain.

Determining the influences of anthropogenic perturbations on side channel dynamics in large rivers is important from both assessment and monitoring perspectives because side channels provide critical habitat to numerous aquatic species. Side channel extents are decreasing in large rivers worldwide. Although riprap and other linear structures have been shown to reduce side channel extents in large rivers, we hypothesized that small "anthropogenic plugs" (flow obstructions such as dikes or berms) across side channels modify whole-river geomorphology via accelerating side channel senescence.

Now Hiring! Empirically Testing a Three-Step Intervention to Increase Faculty Gender Diversity in STEM.

Workforce homogeneity limits creativity, discovery, and job satisfaction; nonetheless, the vast majority of university faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are men. We conducted a randomized and controlled three-step faculty search intervention based in self-determination theory aimed at increasing the number of women faculty in STEM at one US university where increasing diversity had historically proved elusive. Results show that the numbers of women candidates considered for and offered tenure-track positions were significantly higher in the intervention groups compared with those in controls.

A packed-bed filtration system for collection of Myxobolus cerebralis triactinomyxons.

Information on the distribution and abundance of Myxobolus cerebralis triactinomyxons in natural systems is limited because direct and accurate sampling methods for this life stage have not been developed. Existing methods are based on indirect measures of triactinomyxon densities and are therefore confounded. Direct estimation of triactinomyxon concentrations would more exactly pinpoint the ambient infection risk to wild fish and allow evaluation of management strategies designed to mitigate the effects of the disease.

Effects of fish age versus size on the development of whirling disease in rainbow trout.

We examined the effects of both fish age and size on the development of resistance to whirling disease in Erwin strain rainbow trout. Previously, we demonstrated that juvenile rainbow trout became resistant to development of the disease when first exposed to triactinomyxons of the parasite Myxobolus cerebralis at about 9 wk post-hatch when raised at 12 degrees C, but ages and sizes of fish used in that experiment were confounded (Ryce EKN, Zale AV, MacConnell E [2004] Dis Aquat Org 59:225-233). In this study, rainbow trout of the same age and different sizes, and the same size and different ages, were exposed to the parasite to distinguish the influences of age and size.

Effects of fish age and parasite dose on the development of whirling disease in rainbow trout.

We determined the ages at which juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss became resistant to the effects of whirling disease following exposure to a range of parasite doses. Heretofore, the development and severity of whirling disease in salmonids was known to be generally dependent on the age or size of fish when first exposed to the triactinomyxon spores of Myxobolus cerebralis; larger, older individuals tended to be less diseased. However, no systematic determination had been made of the exact age at which fish become resistant to the development of the disease.