Ecology and Taxonomy of Freshwater and Diadromous Sculpins

Moderators: Susan B. Adams and David A. Schmetterling
Emails: sadams01@fs.fed.us or sbadams@olemiss.edu and dschmetterling@state.mt.us

Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Time: 8:00 am to 3:20 pm
Location: Egan 13

The roughly 42 species of freshwater and diadromous sculpin (Cottus spp.) constitute an integral component of many freshwater ecosystems in the northern hemisphere. Substantial proportions of the biomass in fish assemblages are often comprised of sculpin, which function as competitors, predators, and prey of other fishes. In some species, long-distance migrations serve to move energy and nutrients through aquatic systems. Despite their functional importance to aquatic ecosystems, sculpin typically take a back seat to game fishes and thus, have received minimal research and management attention. For example, fish passage is typically designed for game fishes, yet because some sculpin migrate and have lesser swimming abilities than many game fishes, sculpin may be the most appropriate target species for fish passage design. Although most fish biologists acknowledge that sculpin are ecologically important, in many regions, sculpin taxonomy and ecology are poorly understood. The goal of this symposium is to provide a forum for discussing current research and management of sculpin. Specific objectives include: 1) presenting current research findings related to the taxonomy, life history, ecology, and conservation of freshwater and diadromous sculpin, 2) defining critical research and management needs, and 3) facilitating networking and collaboration among biologists working with sculpin. Symposium participants will become familiar with current avenues of research on sculpin as well as relevant conservation issues. We hope that bringing together biologists working on these fishes will create a synergy leading to new research directions, adding new dimensions to current research programs, and increasing the profile of sculpin as appropriate target species for some management objectives. Initial e-mail responses to this symposium proposal have been enthusiastic and suggest that the symposium would appeal to many AFS members, as well as to biologists who typically attend ASIH, rather than AFS, meetings.

Link to list of presentations in this symposium