Andrew B. Sutherland
Post-doctoral research fellow in Joseph Culp’s CRI lab
Ph.D. (Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia)
Research Interests:
I am interested in how changes in stream structure and function impact native aquatic fauna. In particular, I am interested in how local and watershed land-cover change affect stream geomorphology and instream habitat, and how these changes affect the habitat use, life-history and assemblage structure of upland riverine fishes. My research has focused on how land-cover change affects instream sediment processes, and how these changes in sediment regime influence fish assemblage structure in southern Appalachian streams. I have also examined how increased suspended sediment affects the physiology, behavior and distribution of fishes endemic to these systems. In future I look forward to studying the mechanisms that link land-use change, non-point source pollution and alteration native stream fish communities.
Current Project:
I am working with Environment Canada (EC), through the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Agriculture Policy Framework (APF), helping to develop deposited sediment performance standards for streams draining agricultural lands. Specifically, as part of the National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative (NAESI), my research involves 1) the determination of appropriate deposited sediment criteria, including both performance indicators (e.g. streambed stability) and condition indicators (e.g. benthic invertebrate indices), 2) the development of methods for rapidly assessing these criteria and 3) the development of performance standards for deposited sediment in Canada’s agricultural streams.
Recent Publications:
Sutherland, A.B. 2006. Effects of increased suspended sediment on the reproductive
success of an upland minnow. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 136:
416-422
Sutherland, A.B. and J.L. Meyer. 2006. Effects of increased suspended sediment on growth
rate and gill condition of two southern Appalachian minnows. Environmental Biology of
Fishes; Available online: DOI 10.1007/s10641-006-9139-8
Sutherland, A.B. 2006. A simple reciprocating apparatus for maintaining long-term
turbidity in biological experiments. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 4:49-57.
Sutherland, A.B., J.L. Meyer and E.P. Gardiner. 2002. Effects of land cover on sediment
regime and fish assemblage structure in four southern Appalachian streams. Freshwater
Biology 47: 1791 – 1805.
Schofield, K.A., C.M. Pringle, J.L. Meyer and A.B. Sutherland. 2001. The importance of
crayfish in the breakdown of rhododendron leaf litter. Freshwater Biology 46(9):
1191-1204.
Sutherland, A.B., J. Maki, and V. Vaughan (submitted) Effects of suspended sediment on
the whole-body cortisol stress response of two southern Appalachian minnows, Erimonax
monachus and Cyprinella galactura. Copeia
Sutherland, A.B. (submitted) Spotfin chub (Erimonax monachus) spawning habitat and
behavior in the Upper Little Tennessee River, North Carolina. Copeia