Carol-Johnston-Auburn-Fisheries-2010

Carol Johnston

Professor

School of Fisheries, Aquaculture & Aquatic Sciences

(334) 844-1781 

  johnsc5@auburn.edu 

  

Get In Touch

Address:
Fish Biodiversity Lab
Auburn Univ, AL 36849

Biography

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Member:

  • American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
  • International Society of Behavioral Ecologists
  • Southeastern Fishes Council
  • Elected positions:
  • President-elect, Southeastern Fishes Council
  • Board of Governors, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
  • President, Southeastern Division American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 1998
  • President, Mississippi Chapter, American Fisheries Society, 1994-1996
  • Professional Service:
  • Editorial Board, Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 2001-present
  • Editorial Board, Copeia, 2001
  • Long-range planning committee, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
  • Chair, student awards committee, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 2003
  • National Science Foundation Panelist, Field Stations and Marine Labs, June 2001, May 2002, June 2004
  • Invited lecturer and meeting summary ‘Linking ecology and individual behavior of freshwater fishes’, Silkeborg, Denmark
  • Invited to organize symposium ‘Conservation and reproductive biology of minnows’, Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution of Fishes meeting, Athens, GA 2000

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Golden Key Honor Society, Auburn University
  • Rise to the Future Award, USDA Forest Service, Washington; 1993
  • Stoye award for the best student paper in Ecology and Ethology, 1992 meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
  • Excellent teacher rating, University of Illinois Biology program, 1992
  • Edwin M. Banks Memorial Award for the outstanding graduate student in Ethology, Department of Ecology, Ethology and Evolution, University of Illinois, 1991.

Research

Behavioral ecology and conservation of fishes, with emphasis on acoustic communication and spawning behavior of North American fishes.

Courses

  • FISH/BIOL 6380
  • FISH/BIOL 7030 – Field Studies in Ichthyology, Fishes of the Southeast

The objective of this intensive field course is to become familiar with the diversity of fishes of the southeastern United States, as it relates to physiography and drainage history. Aquatic conservation is also emphasized.

The field portion of the course includes collecting fishes from major drainages in: Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Fishes were also observed in their natural habitats by snorkeling. A total of 134 species (4144 specimens) from 32 sites were collected.

Publications

  • BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY — 2014
    Evidence of the Lombard effect in fishes
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 2014
    The relationship between breeding coloration and mating success in male pygmy sculpin (Cottus paulus Williams)
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY— 2013
    Sound production and associated behaviors in blacktail shiner Cyprinella venusta: a comparison between field and lab
  • ZOOTAXA — 2013
    Diversity within the Redeye Bass, Micropterus coosae (Perciformes: Centrarchidae) species group, with descriptions of four new species
  • BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION — 2013
    Precipitous decline and conservation of Slackwater Darter (Etheostoma boschungi) in tributaries of the Tennessee River, Tennessee and Alabama
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISH — 2011
    Sound production in Etheostoma oophylax (Percidae) and call characteristics correlated to body size
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 2011
    The relationship between ambient noise and dominant frequency of vocalizations in two speciesof darters (Percidae: Etheostoma)
  • ANIMAL BEHAVIOR — 2011
    Can you hear the dinner bell? Response of cyprinid fishes to environmentalacoustic cues
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISH — 2011
    Hearing sensitivity in two black bass species using the auditory brainstem response approach
  • THE SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST — 2010 SOUND PRODUCTION AND SPAWNING BEHAVIOR IN CYPRINELLA LEPIDA,THE EDWARDS PLATEAU SHINER
  • ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH — 2010
    Ontogenetic habitat shifts and habitat use in an endangered minnow, Notropis mekistocholas
  • JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY — 2010
    Sound production in the pygmy sculpin Cottus paulus (Cottidae) during courtship and agonistic behaviors
  • ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH — 2009
    Fish assemblage shifts and species declines in Alabama, USA streams
  • JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY — 2009
    Evolution of acoustic signals in Cyprinella: degree of similarity in sister species
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 2009
    Signaling without the risk of illegitimate receivers:do predators respond to the acoustic signals of Cyprinella (Cyprinidae)?
  • ANIMAL BEHAVIOR — 2008
    Geographical divergence of acoustic signals in Cyprinella galactura, the whitetail shiner (Cyprinidae)
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 2008
    Production of acoustic signals during aggression in Coosa bass, Micropterus coosae
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 2008
    Sound production and associated behaviors in Cyprinella galactura
  • SOUTHERN NATURALIST — 2008
    Life-history Plasticity Among Stream Sites in the Chattahoochee River Drainage, Alabama
  • ZOOTAXA — 2008
    The Alabama Bass, Micropterus henshalli (Teleostei: Centrarchidae), from the Mobile River basin
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISH — 2007
    Learned or innate production of acoustic signals in fishes: a test using a cyprinid
  • JOURNAL OF FRESHWATER ECOLOGY — 2007
    Habitat Use of the Shoal Bass, Micropterus cataractae, in an Alabama Stream
  • TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY — 2004
    Susceptibility of Ten Fish Species to Electroshock-Induced Mortality
  • ECOLOGY OF FRESH WATER FISH — 2004
    Fish assemblage recovery and persistence
  • SOUTHEASTERN NATURALIST — 2004
    Changes in the Fish Assemblage of Bear Creek (Tennessee River Drainage) Alabama and Mississippi: 1968-2000
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 2003
    Sound production in Codoma ornata (Girard) (Cyprinidae)
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 2003
    Sound production in sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus and S. platorynchus (Acipenseridae)
  • SOUTHEASTERN FISHES COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS— 2002
    Seasonal, diel and spawning habitat of the rare muscadine darter (Percina sp.) in the Conasauga river, Georgia.
  • ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH — 2001
    Nest site selection and aspects of the reproductive biology of the pygmy sculpin (Cottus paulus) in Coldwater Spring, Calhoun County, Alabama
  • COPEIA — 2000
    Allopaternal Care in the Pygmy Sculpin (Cottus pygmaeus)
  • COPEIA — 2000
    Sound Production during the Spawning Season in Cavity-Nesting Darters of the Subgenus Catonotus (Percidae: Etheostoma)
  • COPEIA — 2000
    Sound Production in Pimephales notatus (Rafinesque) (Cyprinidae)
  • ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH — 2000
    Movement patterns of imperiled blue shiners ( Pisces: Cyprinidae ) among habitat patches
  • JOURNAL OF FRESHWATER ECOLOGY — 2000
    Movement Patterns of Stream-Dwelling Sunfishes: Effects of Pool Size
  • TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY — 1999
    Movement Patterns of Stream Fishes in a Ouachita Highlands Stream: An Examination of the Restricted Movement Paradigm
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 1999
    The relationship of spawning mode to conservation of North American minnows (Cyprinidae)
  • SOUTHEASTERN FISHES COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS — 1999
    Laboratory observations of spawning behavior in two species of snubnose darters, Etheostoma colorosum, and, E. tallapoosae
  • SOUTHEASTERN FISH COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS — 1999
    Retention of passive integrated transponder ( PIT ) tags for individual identification of warmwater stream fishes
  • COPEIA — 1999
    Life-History Traits of the Bluenose Shiner, Pteronotropis welaka (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae)
  • SOUTHEASTERN FISHES COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS — 1997
    Observational notes on the spawning behavior of the blue shiner ( Cyprinelle caerulea ) and the holiday darter ( Etheostoma brevirostrum ), two rare fishes of the Conasauaga River, Georgis and Tennessee
  • JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY — 1997
    MICROHABITAT PARAMETERS AND LIFE-HISTORY CHARACTERISTICS OF FALLICAMBARUS GORDONI FITZPATRICK, A CRAYFISH ASSOCIATED WITH PITCHER-PLANT BOGS IN SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 1996
    Parallel swims as a means of intra- and interspecific assessment in stream fishes
  • TULANE STUDIES IN ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY — 1996
    Life history of the Yazoo darter ( Percidae: Etheostoma raneyi ), a species endemic to North-central Mississippi
  • THE SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST — 1995
    Spawning behavior of the paleback darter, Etheostoma pallididorsum, ( Percidae )
  • JOURNAL OF THE TENNESSEE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE — 1995
    Introduced species of fishes in the southern appalachians: consequences for conservation
  • BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY — 1994
    Nest association in fishes: evidence for mutualism
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 1994
    The benefit to some minnows of spawning in the nests of other species
  • COPEIA — 1994
    Spawning behavior of the goldstripe darter ( Etheostoma parvipinne Gilbert and Swain )
  • JOURNAL OF THE ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE — 1994
    REPRODUCTIVRE BEHAVIOR OF THE RAINBOW SHINER (NOTROPIS CHROSOMUS) AND THE ROUGH SHINER (NOTROPIS BAILEYI), NEST ASSOCIATES OF THE BLUEHEAD CHUB (NOCOMIS LEPTOCEPHALUS) (PISCES: CYPRINIDAE) IN THE AlABAMA RIVER DRAINAGE
  • (BOOK CHAPT.) SYSTEMATICS, HISTORICAL ECOLOGY, AND NORTH AMERICAN FRESHWATER FISHES — 1992
    The evolution of complex reproductive strategies in north american minnows ( Cyrinidae )
  • TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE — 1991
    Discovery of the threespine stickleback ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ) ( Pisces: Gasterosteidae ) in the Lake Michigan drainage, Illinois
  • BRIMLEYANA — 1991
    Spawning activities of Notropis chlorocephalus, Notropis chiliticus and Hybopsis hypsinotus, nest associates of Nocomis leptocephalus in the southeastern United States, with comments on nest association ( Cypriniformes: Cyrinidae
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY OF FISHES — 1990
    Spawning in the creek chubsucker, Erimyzon oblongus, with a review of spawning behavior in suckers (Catostomidae)
  • COPEIA — 1990
    Redescription of Semotilus thoreauianus Jordan, 1877, a Cyprinid fish of the southeastern United States
  • COPEIA — 1990
    THE BREEDING BEHAVIOR OF OPSOPOEODUS EMILLAE (CYPRINIDAE) AND ITS PHYLOGENETIC IMPLICATIONS.
  • TRANSACTIONS OF THE KENTUCKY ACADEMY OF SCIENCE — 1989
    The spawning behavior of the Saffron darter ( Etheostoma flavum )
  • TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE — 1989
    Spawning in the eastern sand darter, Ammocrypta pellucida ( Pisces: Percidae ), with comments on the phylogeny of Ammocrypta and related taxa
  • JOURNAL OF THE ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE/JPEG — 1988
    SPAWNING IN THE BANDFlN SHINER, NOTROPIS ZONISTIUS (PISCES: CYPRINIDAE)

Research Projects

Sound Production - Research in fish acoustics at Auburn University

Research is focused on discovering and describing sounds produced by North American freshwater fishes.  This information is used to understand the evolution of acoustic signals in the study species, and future work is aimed at understanding the role of acoustic signals in mate choice, speciation and male:male assessment, and the potential of acoustic signals for population monitoring.

Graduate students involved: Cathy Nordfelt, PhD candidate, is working on the evolution of signals in Cyprinella, including geographic variation in Cyprinella galactura, and is also working on the sturgeon project.

Focal Groups

Pallid-Sturgeon-Fish-Auburn-Carol-Johnson-ResearchPallid Sturgeon Sound Production

Shovelnose Sturgeon FishShovelnose Sturgeon Fish Sound production chart

Sturgeon: Current work is aimed at documentation of sound production in Scaphirhynchus. Preliminary work shows that they do produce sounds during the breeding season. Future work will include examination of species-specific signals and location of spawning areas in natural habitats. This work is funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and was conducted at the Natchitoches Fish Hatchery, LA.

Minnows: Most of our focus is on the evolution of signal structure in Cyprinella, which involves recording and describing sounds made during aggressive encounters and spawning/courtship. Cathy Nordfelt is looking at geographic signal variation in C. galactura: do acoustic signals evolve faster than morphological traits? Sound production has also been discovered in Pimephales (with Dawn Johnson) and Codoma (with Steve Vives).

C. Galactura from Duck River Drainage

Codoma Ornata fishCodoma Ornata Fish Sound Production Chart

Darters: Our surveys suggest that only darters in the subgenus Catonotus (exclusive of the barcheek group) produce sounds. The use of acoustic signals cannot be predicted by spawning mode (other cavity nesters, Boleosma, do not make sounds), bright coloration (other drab species don’t make sounds – E. parvipinne, E. proliare) or even phylogeny (barcheeks don’t produce sounds).

Etheostoma Corona FishEtheostoma Corona Fish Sound Production Charts

Slackwater Darter – Status and Population Viability

Etheostoma boschungi, male Dodd site, fish

March 5, 2001 – Etheostoma boschungi, the slackwater darter, is known from only a few disjunct populations in tributaries of theTennessee River, TN and AL. Slackwater darters, like other members of the subgenus Ozarka, have separate breeding and non-breeding habitats. Prior to the late winter/early spring spawning season, these darters migrate from stream/river habitats to small tributaries adjacent to breeding sites. During floods, darters move up onto seepage areas in open fields where spawning takes place. Eggs are attached to vegetation (primarily Juncus); juveniles and  adults move from the breeding sites downstream to non-breeding habitat in April/May. In 1995, McGregor and Shepard reported 22 known populations of slackwater darter. Today, due to alteration of both breeding and non-breeding habitat, we suspect that many of these populations no longer exist. Our objectives are to assess population levels at historical localities, and to assess viability of known populations using demographic models. So far, we have only located extant populations of slackwater darters at one of five sites surveyed; the ‘Dodd’ site in Wayne Co., TN. Efforts to collect darters in non-breeding habitat in November and February (5 sites each date) were unsuccessful.  This is Wendi Winter Hartup’s masters thesis project, directed by Carol Johnston.

Dodd site, Wayne Co., TN Breeding site is near barn on right

Dodd site, Wayne Co., TN Breeding site is near barn on right

    Conservation

    Conservation Research
    Research focuses on patterns of fish movement as it relates to metapopulation dynamics of non-game, freshwater fishes. Topics also include habitat use, life history plasticity and pesistence in fragmented landscapes.

    Yazoo darter status survey, MS
    The Yazoo darter, Etheostoma raneyi, is endemic to small streams in the upper tributaries of the Yazoo River in Mississippi.  The species is threatened by degradation of small stream habitat, and monioring the distribution and abundance of population of the species is critical for it’s protection.  The current project aims to identify populations that may be on the verge of extirpation on the basis of habitat connectivity, habitat quality, and abundance.

    Kudzu, the little known habitat of the Yazoo darter.

    No darters here. Hotopha Creek, Panola Co., MS

    Habitat use of blue shiner, Cyprinella caerulea

    Blue Shiner, Cyprinella caerulea

    The blue shiner, Cyprinella caerulea, has disappeared throughout much of its range, prompting federal listing as a threatened species. Our research focuses on understanding how blue shiners use their habitat by researching movement among habitat patches as well as seasonal, nocturnal and foraging habitat use.

    Habitat use of Muscadine darter in the Conasauga River

    Muscadine Darter, Percina sp., photo by C. E. Johnston

    What habitat is really important for maintaining a species?  In a project similar to that for blue shiner, we are examining seasonal, nocturnal, foraging and spawning habitat use by the muscadine darter in a pristine environment.  Hopefully such projects will help in understanding the maintenance of biodiversity as well as what is needed for habitat restoration.

    Holiday Darter, Etheostoma brevirostrum, photo by C. E. Johnston

    Other projects include:
    – Habitat use, status and abundance of the holiday darter in Alabama and in the Conasauga River
    – Effects of habitat fragmentation and land use on fish assemblages of Bear Creek, Alabama and Mississippi
    – Autecology of the flier
    – Status of Pteronotropis euryzonus in Alabama:  effects of habiat fragmentation on a headwater species
    – Movement patterns of the slackwater darter, Etheostoma boschungi
    – Fishes of Five Runs Creek, Conecuh National Forest
    – Fishes of selected streams on the Talladega National Forest
    – Spawning habitat segregation of three species of Cyprinella in the Conasauga River

    Behavioral Ecology of Fishes

    My work with behavioral ecology includes nesting symbiosis, evolution of spawning behavior, alloparental care, sound production and fighting and assessment.

    Nocomis Micropogon, photo by C. E. Johnston Fish

    Nocomis Micropogon, photo by C. E. Johnston

    Up to eight other species may spawn over chub nests.  Is this just a big rip for the male, or is something in it for them?  My work has shown that there are benefits to having lots of other eggs in your nest. Current work is aimed at understanding the costs of nest building, in terms of lifetime reproductive success.

    Spawning Redband Darters, Etheostoma Luteovinctum, photo by C. E. Johnston

    Believe it or not, we don’t even know how many North American fishes spawn, including many darters and minnows, ourmost common and abundant fishes. My work is aimed at understanding the evolution of spawning modes in fishes, but first – I have lots of information gaps to fill in.

    Sound Production in Freshwater Fishes

    Etheostoma crosopterum, photo by C. E. Johnston, fish

    Although sound production has been known in many groups of fishes for some time, almost no work has been done investigating this mode of communication in North American freshwater fishes. I have recently discovered sound production in numerous species of minnows, madtom catfishes and in some species darters. Current work is includes description of the sounds and contexts, as well as work with female choice. The role of acoustic signals in the maintenance of species integrity in Cyprinella is a long-term project aimed at understanding the formation of hybrid swarms in the genus.

    Pygmy sculpin, Cottus paulis, photo by C. E. Johnston

    Recent work with nesting ecology of the imperiled pygmy sculpin showed that the species exhibits alloparental care.

      Prior Graduate Students

      • Bryan Phillips – M.S. Student, Sound production
      • Cary Allison – M.S. Student, Sensory biology of cavefishes
      • Justin Evans – M.S. Student, Systematics of South American fishes
      • Paul Pera – M.S. Student, Life history of pirate perch