J. Todd Petty

In the southeastern United States, ongoing urbanization and associated environmental perturbations, such as water quality degradation, potentially affect foraging habitat of the federally endangered gray myotis (Myotis grisescens). Conserving foraging areas of gray myotis is critical to this species' recovery, especially as white nose syndrome (Geomyces destructans) recently has been documented in this species. From 2000 to 2001, we used acoustic monitoring and spatial models to determine foraging areas of gray myotis near four bachelor/maternity colonies in northwestern Georgia. We...

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) habitat restoration is needed across a range of stream sizes; however, studies quantifying brook trout habitat preferences in streams of differing sizes are rare. We used radio-telemetry to quantify adult brook trout microhabitat use in a central Appalachian watershed, the upper Shavers Fork of the Cheat River in eastern West Virginia. Our objectives were to: 1) quantify non-random microhabitat use by adult brook trout in the Shavers Fork main stem (drainage area = 32 km2) and an adjacent tributary, Rocky Run (drainage area = 7 km2); and 2) construct...

We examined relationships between landscape physiographic variables and summer stream temperatures in the Cheat River watershed, West Virginia, to develop statistical models for characterizing thermal patterns at the stream segment and watershed scales and to examine the relationship between modeled thermal patterns and the distribution of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) at these scales. Our study produced three important results. First, we developed a model to accurately predict weekly mean July temperature (WMJT) in this system using easily...

The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV) was formed to implement range-wide strategies that sustain healthy, fishable brook trout populations across the entire range of the eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). In order to accomplish the goals of the EBTJV in West Virginia we set out to accomplish the following objectives: to assess brook trout populations where current data is lacking and to set restoration priorities for stream reaches within this area based on both reach and subwatershed scale connectivity. Our study area was Region 1 of West Virginia, the Upper Potomac...

We quantified brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) microhabitat use in a central Appalachian watershed, the upper Shavers Fork of the Cheat River during spring/summer 2001 with telemetry. Our objectives were to: 1) quantify non-random microhabitat use by brook trout in the Shavers Fork main stem and Rocky Run (a major tributary), 2) quantify the effects of increasing water temperature on microhabitat use, and 3) construct habitat suitability curves for four important microhabitat variables. Trout used a subset of available habitats in both the main stem and Rocky Run. Specifically trout...

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations in the upper Shavers Fork, a high elevation watershed in eastern West Virginia, have been severely impacted by a loss of quality habitat. Successful restoration of these populations will require a comprehensive understanding of current habitat conditions at a watershed scale. We describe a statistically based habitat survey designed to quantify physical habitat conditions within the watershed at a range of spatial scales. Our study also addresses the following specific objectives: 1) to describe discrete hydraulic channel units that commonly...