Michael K. Young

Federal agencies are charged by Congress with the assessment and monitoring of all native and desired nonnative species in aquatic ecosystems. The intent of my research is to develop one of the largest cohesive biological assessments of fish and amphibians in the U.S. Doing so will set the stage for future monitoring at large spatial scales e.g., entire river basins, National Forest regions, or the historical ranges of focal species. The work serves as an empirical benchmark for detecting, modeling, and understanding the broad-scale effects of climate change or nonnative species invasions. It also provides a conservation atlas to managers who need to know what parts of species—populations, evolutionary lineages, or subspecies—constitute their conservation portfolio, and what areas currently serve as biodiversity hotspots. This research refines methods for detecting and monitoring species to facilitate more precise and accurate estimates of species composition and distribution. Finally, it identifies the expected responses of species to a changing climate and greater demands on aquatic resources.