Keith Nislow
Team Leader / Research Fisheries Biologist
Urban Forests, Human Health, and Environmental Quality
201 Holdsworth NRC, Univ. of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003-9285
United States
Amherst, MA 01003-9285
United States
Phone
413-545-1765
Current Research
My research deals with the relationship between land use, aquatic habitat, and the distribution and abundance of fish and aquatic invertebrates. Specializing in establishing explicit, mechanistic links between environmental variation with behavior, growth, and survival, I am particularly interested in using basic science to assist restoration, conservation, and management.
- Bioenergetics approaches to habitat suitability modeling for juvenile salmonids
- Effects of forest change on aquatic habitats, invertebrates, and fishes
- Using genetic and stable isotope markers to understand Atlantic salmon movement and dispersal between habitats
- Role of biotic interactions at local spatial scales in determining growth and survival of juvenile salmonids
- Role of anadromous fish in the transport of nutrients and materials to and from freshwater ecosystems
- Effects of hydrologic alteration on river and floodplain ecosystems
- Effects of acidification on Atlantic salmon
Research Interest
- Develop and apply new techniques and technologies to determine the effects of fragmentation associated with dams and roads on brook trout and other native species.
- Develop an adaptive management framework to implement and assess ecologically sustainable flow regimes for notheastern river systems.
- Determine the relationship between long-term changes in forest structure and atmospheric emissions and aquatic ecosystems and communities.
- Understand the role of habitat-dependent interactions between invasive and native species in structuring aquatic communities.
Why This Research Is Important
Freshwater ecosystems in New England and the northeastern US are strongly influenced by past and present anthropogenic change. In order for managers and stakeholders to make decisions based on sound science, we need to understand the links between land use change, freshwater ecosystems and sustainable fish populations, and effectively communicate this knowledge.
Education
- Dartmouth College, Ph.D., , 1997
- University of New Mexico, M.S., , 1989
- University of New Mexico, B.S., , 1987
Professional Organizations
- Associate Editor, American Fisheries Society, Current
- North American Benthological Society, Current
- Fisheries Society of the British Isles, Current
- Ecological Society of America, Current
- Technical Advisor, The Nature Conservancy, Current
- Technical Advisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Current
- Technical Advisor, Maine Atlantic Salmon Recovery Team, Current
- Technical Advisor, Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission, Current
Featured Publications
- Ward, Darren M.; Nislow, Keith H.; Chen, Celia Y.; Folt, Carol L.. 2010. Rapid, efficient growth reduces mercury concentrations in stream-dwelling Atlantic salmon
- Laser, Melissa; Jordan, James; Nislow, Keith. 2009. Riparian forest and instream large wood characteristics, West Branch Sheepscot River, Maine, USA
- Nislow, Keith H.; Lowe, Winsor H.. 2003. Influences of logging history and stream pH on brook trout abundance in first-order streams in New Hampshire
Other Publications
- Whiteley, Andrew R.; Coombs, Jason A.; O'Donnell, Matthew J.; Nislow, Keith H.; Letcher, Benjamin H.. 2017. Keeping things local: Subpopulation Nb and Ne in a stream network with partial barriers to fish migration
- Letcher, Benjamin H.; Hocking, Daniel J.; O'Neil, Kyle ; Whiteley, Andrew R.; Nislow, Keith H.; O'Donnell, Matthew J.. 2016. A hierarchical model of daily stream temperature using air-water temperature synchronization, autocorrelation, and time lags
- Whiteley, Andrew R.; Coombs, Jason A.; Cembrola, Matthew ; O'Donnell, Matthew J.; Hudy, Mark ; Nislow, Keith H.; Letcher, Benjamin H.. 2015. Effective number of breeders provides a link between interannual variation in stream flow and individual reproductive contribution in a stream salmonid
- Magilligan, F.J. ; Nislow, K.H. ; Kynard, B.E. ; Hackman, A.M.. 2016. Immediate changes in stream channel geomorphology, aquatic habitat, and fish assemblages following dam removal in a small upland catchment
- Kelly, J. T.; Lerner, D. T.; O'Dea, M. F.; Regish, A. M.; Monette, M. Y.; Hawkes, J. P.; Nislow, K. H.; McCormick, S. D.. 2015. Evidence for episodic acidification effects on migrating Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts
- Chadwick, Joseph G.; Nislow, Keith H.; McCormick, Stephen D.. 2015. Thermal onset of cellular and endocrine stress responses correspond to ecological limits in brook trout, an iconic cold-water fish
- Bassar, Ronald D.; Letcher, Benjamin H.; Nislow, Keith H.; Whiteley, Andrew R.. 2016. Changes in seasonal climate outpace compensatory density-dependence in eastern brook trout
- Myers, Bonnie J. E.; Dolloff, C. Andrew; Webster, Jackson R.; Nislow, Keith H.; Rypel, Andrew L.. 2021. Diversity production relationships of fish communities in freshwater stream ecosystems
- Zaidel, Peter A.; Roy, Allison H.; Houle, Kristopher M.; Lambert, Beth ; Letcher, Benjamin H.; Nislow, Keith H.; Smith, Christopher. 2020. Impacts of small dams on stream temperature
- Auer, Sonya K.; Bassar, Ronald D.; Turek, Daniel ; Anderson, Graeme J.; McKelvey, Simon ; Armstrong, John D.; Nislow, Keith H.; Downie, Helen K.; Morgan, Thomas A. J.; McLennan, Darryl ; Metcalfe, Neil B.. 2020. Metabolic Rate Interacts with Resource Availability to Determine Individual Variation in Microhabitat Use in the Wild
- Robinson, Zachary L.; Coombs, Jason A.; Hudy, Mark ; Nislow, Keith H.; Letcher, Benjamin H.; Whiteley, Andrew R.. 2017. Experimental test of genetic rescue in isolated populations of brook trout
- Auer, Sonya K.; Anderson, Graeme J.; McKelvey, Simon ; Bassar, Ronald D.; McLennan, Darryl ; Armstrong, John D.; Nislow, Keith H.; Downie, Helen K.; McKelvey, Lynn ; Morgan, Thomas A.J.; Salin, Karine ; Orrell, Danielle L.; Gauthey, Alice ; Reid, Thomas C.; Metcalfe, Neil B.. 2018. Nutrients from salmon parents alter selection pressures on their offspring
- McLennan, Darryl ; Auer, Sonya K.; Anderson, Graeme J.; Reid, Thomas C.; Bassar, Ronald D.; Stewart, David C.; Cauwelier, Eef ; Sampayo, James ; McKelvey, Simon ; Nislow, Keith H.; Armstrong, John D.; Metcalfe, Neil B.. 2019. Simulating nutrient release from parental carcasses increases the growth, biomass and genetic diversity of juvenile Atlantic salmon
- Letcher, Benjamin H.; Walker, Jeffrey D.; O'Donnell, Matthew J.; Whiteley, Andrew R.; Nislow, Keith H.; Coombs, Jason A.. 2018. Three Visualization Approaches for Communicating and Exploring Passive Integrated Transponder Tag Data
- Childress, Evan S.; Nislow, Keith H.; Whiteley, Andrew R.; O'Donnell, Matthew J.; Letcher, Benjamin H.. 2019. Daily estimates reveal fine-scale temporal and spatial variation in fish survival across a stream network
- Whiteley, Andrew R.; Coombs, Jason A.; Letcher, Benjamin H.; Nislow, Keith H.. 2014. Simulation and empirical analysis of novel sibship-based genetic determination of fish passage
- Dixon, Simon J.; Sear, David A.; Nislow, Keith H.. 2018. A conceptual model of riparian forest restoration for natural flood management
- Penaluna, Brooke E.; Reeves, Gordon H.; Barnett, Zanethia ; Bisson, Peter A.; Buffington, John M.; Dolloff, Andy ; Flitcroft, Rebecca ; Luce, Charles H.; Nislow, Keith ; Rothlisberger, John ; Warren, Mel. . 2018. Using natural disturbance and portfolio concepts to guide aquatic-riparian ecosystem management
- Einum, Sigurd ; Nislow, Keith H.; McKelvey, Simon ; Armstrong, John D.. 2011. The spatial scale of competition from recruits on an older cohort in Atlantic salmon
- Einum, Sigurd ; Finstad, Anders G.; Robertsen, Grethe ; Nislow, Keith H.; McKelvey, Simon ; Armstrong, John D.. 2012. Natal movement in juvenile Atlantic salmon: a body size-dependent strategy
- Kanno, Yoichiro; Letcher, Benjamin H.; Rosner, Ana L.; O'Neil, Kyle P.; Nislow, Keith H.. 2015. Environmental Factors Affecting Brook Trout Occurrence in Headwater Stream Segments
- Myers, Bonnie J.E.; Dolloff, C. Andrew; Webster, Jackson R.; Nislow, Keith H.; Fair, Brandon; Rypel, Andrew L.. 2017. Fish assemblage production estimates in Appalachian streams across a latitudinal and temperature gradient
- Ward, Darren M.; Nislow, Keith H.; Folt, Carol L.; Grant, James. 2011. Seasonal shift in the effects of predators on juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) energetics
- Kasprak, A.; Magilligan, F. J.; Nislow, K. H.; Snyder, N. P.. 2012. A Lidar-derived evaluation of watershed-scale large woody debris sources and recruitment mechanisms: costal Maine, USA
- Nislow, K.H.; Sepulveda, A.J.; Folt, C.L.. 2004. Mechanistic linkage of hydrologic regime to summer growth of age-0 Atlantic salmon
- Jane, Stephen F.; Nislow, Keith H.; Whiteley, Andrew R.. 2014. The use (and misuse) of archaeological salmon data to infer historical abundance in North America with a focus on New England
- Daniels, Amy; Shaw, Nancy; Peterson, Dave; Nislow, Keith; Tomosy, Monica; Rowland, Mary. 2014. Facing climate change in forests and fields
- Wilson, Matthew K.; Lowe, Winsor H.; Nislow, Keith. 2014. Family richness and biomass of understory invertebrates in early and late successional habitats of northern New Hampshire
- Robertsen, Grethe; Armstrong, John D.; Nislow, Keith H.; Herfindal, Ivar; McKelvey, Simon; Einum, Sigurd; Genner, Martin. 2014. Spatial variation in the relationship between performance and metabolic rate in wild juvenile Atlantic salmon
- Marks, Christian O.; Nislow, Keith H.; Magilligan, Francis J.. 2014. Quantifying flooding regime in floodplain forests to guide river restoration
- Kanno, Yoichiro; Letcher, Benjamin H.; Coombs, Jason A.; Nislow, Keith H.; Whiteley, Andrew R.. 2014. Linking movement and reproductive history of brook trout to assess habitat connectivity in a heterogeneous stream network
- Daniels, Amy; Shaw, Nancy; Peterson, Dave; Nislow, Keith; Tomosy, Monica; Rowland, Mary. 2014. Facing climate change in forests and fields: U.S. Forest Service taps into science-management partnerships
- Lerman, Susannah B.; Nislow, Keith H.; Nowak, David J.; DeStefano, Stephen; King, David I.; Jones-Farrand, D. Todd. 2014. Using urban forest assessment tools to model bird habitat potential
- Trumbo, Bradly A.; Nislow, Keith H.; Stallings, Jonathan; Hudy, Mark; Smith, Eric P.; Kim, Dong-Yun; Wiggins, Bruce; Dolloff, Charles A.. 2014. Ranking site vulnerability to increasing temperatures in southern Appalachian brook trout streams in Virginia: An exposure-sensitivity approach
- Berger, Alaina L.; Palik, Brian; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Fraver, Shawn; Bradford, John B.; Nislow, Keith; King, David; Brooks, Robert T.. 2013. Ecological impacts of energy-wood harvests: lessons from whole-tree harvesting and natural disturbance
- Nislow, Keith H.; Armstrong, John D.; McKelvey, Simon. 2004. Phosphorus flux due to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in an oligotrophic upland stream: effects of management and demography
- Armstrong, John D.; Nislow, Keith H.. 2012. Modelling approaches for relating effects of change in river flow to populations of Atlantic salmon and brown trout
- Whiteley, Andrew R.; Coombs, Jason A.; Hudy, Mark; Robinson, Zachary; Nislow, Keith H.; Letcher, Benjamin H.. 2012. Sampling strategies for estimating brook trout effective population size
- Brooks, Robert T.; Eggert, Susan L.; Nislow, Keith H.; Kolka, Randall K.; Chen, Celia Y.; Ward, Darren M.. 2012. Preliminary assessment of mercury accumulation in Massachusetts and Minnesota seasonal forest pools
- Letcher, Benjamin H.; Coombs, Jason A; Nislow, Keith H.. 2011. Maintenance of phenotypic variation: repeatibility, heritability, and size-dependent processes in a wild brook trout population
Research Highlights
IITF and NRS each established a Charter for Urban Field Stations and Networks
Year: 2016
IITF and NRS officially established charters for Urban Research Stations in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Baltimore, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia to develop and deliver knowledge that contributes to the understanding of urban social-ecological systems and the adaptation of practices that lea...
Scientist Refines Models Relating River Flows to Fish Habitat and Population Dynamics
Year: 2012
To generate robust preductions, models need to acknowledge the complex life histories of riverine and diadromous fishes