Session Lead: Vicki Blazer
Co-Lead(s): Heather Walsh
Session Format: Oral presentations and panel discussion
Session Description:
A variety of fish species have experienced mortality events, external lesions, reproductive endocrine disruption and population declines within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Numerous pathogens and parasites have been identified, as well as exposure to complex mixtures of contaminants. Land-use attributes and climatic factors influence the exposure and response to these multiple stressors. This session would bring together researchers assessing various fish species and risk factors impacting health to examine commonalities and differences in approaches and methodologies. A panel discussion on development of a biosurveillance network and/or fish health monitoring is also proposed.
Presenters:
Vicki Blazer – Fish Health Indices: Advantages, Disadvantages and Challenges
Josiah Jensen – A Comparison of Two Fish Health Indices Applied to Freshwater Species of the Chesapeake Watershed
Megan Schall – Investigating Spatiotemporal Variability in Visual Health Assessments for Adult Smallmouth Bass
Mark Matsche – Is the Health Assessment Index (HAI) a useful tool for wild fish populations?
Geoffrey Smith – Patterns in melanistic lesions in Smallmouth Bass in the Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania
Heather Walsh – An Integrative Approach to Long-term Monitoring of Smallmouth Bass Reproductive Health in the Potomac River, Maryland