Karin's fisheries
research interests -- Hudson
River
American
shad - Much of my research
on fish has been focused in the Hudson
River estuary in eastern New
York State.
I have studied the life history of American shad (Alosa
sapidissima, pictured here), in particular its migratory
behavior and how that affects its success. This species of fish has been
intensively fished since well before Henry Hudson first sighted Manhattan Island,
and is still one of the key commercial fishery resources of eastern North America. In fact, it belongs to a subfamily
of herrings that is so popular that it even has its own "fan club," The Shad
Foundation. We held a highly successful conference titled "SHAD
2001: The Status and Conservation of Shads Worldwide" in Baltimore, Maryland
in May 2001. The proceedings were published as a book through the American Fisheries Society.
Sadly, American shad, like many
other species, are in serious decline.
Check out the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission’s reports on this and other fishes.
Striped bass - I've also studied the ecology of the larvae of two other
important species in the Hudson -- striped bass (Morone
saxatilis) and white
perch (M. americana).
Stripers are one of the great sport fish, and their commercial fishery has been
carefully managed, such that they are once again abundant (albeit not without
problems). Michael Pace from the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES), student Kristi Arend
(now Dr. Arend), and I studied the importance of food
resources to the survival and recruitment of these species. Here you see
a larval striped bass, made transparent with a clearing agent, and you can see
the water fleas (Bosmina) in its gut
lumen. We found that the timing of zooplankton increases, or
"blooms," in the Hudson
is very favorable for the young fish, and fish that are born before the blooms
suffer from both low water temperatures and little food, while larvae hatched
after the bloom are much more vulnerable to predators.
River herring - Together with Nina Caraco,
also of IES, and Robert Schmidt from Simon's Rock College, I studied how the
invasive species, the zebra mussel, altered the food webs of the Hudson that
lead to another key fish species, blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis). The blueback appears to be moving up into the Mohawk River,
where it appears poised to invade Lake
Ontario via the NYS Barge Canal.
A graduate student, Ian Blackburn, an undergrad, Paul Simonin,
and I studied the population ecology of this species' range expansion
potential, by looking at migration energetics, growth
characteristics, and fecundity. Currently, there is great interest in
learning more about blueback herring and its congener
species, the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus). These two fish species together are referred
to as river herring, even though they spend most of their adult life out at sea
along the coasts. The Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission will be investigating their status over the next
several years. But there is no doubt:
they are in serious decline.
Eels are among the coolest animals
alive. Unfortunately, the ones that
people like to eat (American eel, European eel, and Japanese eel)
are…guess what…in serious decline.
Len Machut (MSc SUNY
ESF), Bob Schmidt, and I studied how eels use tributaries of the Hudson River. We
found some of the highest densities ever reported, in the lower reaches of
tributaries. We also found that barriers
– especially unnatural ones (dams) – play a big role in limiting
the penetration of tribs by eels..
The Hudson River is one of the most beautiful, historic, and
interesting estuaries! Check out these websites:
Hudson
River Foundation (research and education opportunities)
Clearwater
& Scenic Hudson (environmental
organizations)
Hudson River Watertrail
Association (has lots of other Hudson
links)
(back to KL's research)
