Maine Staff Member
Dr. Christina Murphy
Assistant Unit Leader
Phone: (207-581-3010) -
Email: camurphy@usgs.gov
Faculty Email: christina.murphy@maine.edu
Faculty Website
Education
- Ph D Oregon State University 2019
- MS Universitat de Girona 2011
- BS Oregon State University 2008
- BS Oregon State University 2008
- BA Oregon State University 2008
Biography
Christina Murphy - Assistant Unit Leader, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Originally hailing from Oregon, Dr. Murphy received her MSc from the University of Girona, Spain and her PhD from Oregon State University. She was a post-doctoral fellow at Oregon State University before joining the Maine Unit in late 2020. She holds a graduate faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture at the University of Maine. Dr. Murphy prioritizes research with the potential to contribute to the information needs of natural resource managers. Her research interests are centered on top down and bottom up responses to disturbance, especially hydrological alteration. This includes evaluations of nutrient, light and habitat availability, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic insects, fish pathogens, food webs, and diverse fish assemblages. Current projects include, but are not limited to, understanding aquatic ecology in wetted forest lands, the role of introduced species in structuring aquatic food webs, and the influence of environmental flow regimes on ecological integrity. Dr. Murphy has taught Fish Ecology and Conservation and Bioenergetics and is currently teaching Base R.
Areas of Expertise
AI/Machine Learning, Aquatic Ecology, Biodiversity, Disease/Parasites, Ecological Flows, Fisheries Management, Invasive Species, Managed Flows/Hydrology, Population and Community Ecology, Species Distribution Modeling, T&E Species Management, Water Quality, Wetland Ecology
Taxon Groups Studied
Anadromous Fishes, Freshwater Fishes, Invertebrates/Insects, Mussels, Salmonids, Species of Greatest Conservation Need
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Zatkos L., Murphy C.A., Pollock A., Penaluna B.E., Olivos J.A., Mowlds E., Moffitt C., Manning M., Linkem C., Holst L., Cárdenas B., and Arismendi I. 2020. AFS Roots: Dr. Emmeline Moore, All Things to All Fishes. Fisheries 45(8). DOI: 10.1002/fsh.10501 | August 2020 |
| Whitmore M., Murphy C.A., Johnson B. Arismendi I. and Johnson S.L. 2017. Littoral benthic macroinvertebrate response to water-level fluctuations in three reservoirs of the Willamette River Basin, Oregon. River Research and Applications. DOI: 10.1002/rra.3150 | September 2017 |
| Pope, A.C., Kock, T.J., Perry, R.W., Cogliati, K.M., O'Malley, K.G., Murphy, C.A., Hance, D.J., Fielding, S.D. Using parentage based tagging to estimate survival of Chinook salmon fry in a large storage reservoir. Environmental Biology of Fishes. | July 2024 |
| Patrick. C.J., McGarvey D.J., Larson J.H, Cross W.F., Allen D.C., Benke A.C., Brey T., Huryn A.D., Jones J., Murphy C.A., Ruffing C., Saffarinia P., Whiles M.R., Wallace J.B. and Woodward G. 2019. Precipitation and temperature drive continental patterns in stream invertebrate production. Science Advances 5(4): eaav2348 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aav2348 | April 2019 |
| Murphy, C.A., Pollock, A.M.M., Strecker, A., Johnson, S.L. 2022. Minimal diel vertical migration and consistent zooplankton capturability in low productivity reservoirs, Oregon. Journal of Plankton Research https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbac060 | Abstract | November 2022 |
| Murphy, C.A., Pollock, A.M., Johnson, S.L., and Arismendi, I. Linked foraging and bioenergetics modeling may inform fish parasite infection dynamics. Environmental Biology of Fishes | Abstract | May 2023 |
| Murphy, C.A., Gerth, W.G., Neal, T., Antonelli, K., Sanders, J.L., Williams T., Roennfeldt, R-L., Crowhurst, R., Arismendi, I. Evidence for infection influencing survival of the freshwater copepod Salmincola californiensis, a parasite of Pacific salmon and trout. https://doi.org/10.1002/aah.10206 | Publisher Website | November 2023 |
| Murphy, C.A., A. Pollock, I. Arismendi, and S.L. Johnson. HABs and HAB nots: Inconsistent timing of phytoplankton blooms across upper Willamette Reservoirs, Oregon, USA. | Publisher Website | November 2023 |
| Murphy C.A., Zatkos L., Antonelli K., Cárdenas B., Linkem C., Manning M., Olivos J.A., Pollock A., Penaluna B.E., and Arismendi I. 2020. AFS Roots: Mothers of Fishes. Fisheries 45(7): 369-376. DOI:10.1002/fsh.10485 | July 2020 |
| Murphy C.A., Taylor G., Piece T., Arismendi I. and Johnson S.L. 2019. Short-term reservoir draining for juvenile salmon passage and non-native fish removal. Ecohydrology. DOI: 10.1002/eco.2096 | April 2019 |
| Murphy C.A., Romer J.D., Arismendi I., Emig R., Monzyk F., Stertz K. and Johnson S.L. 2021. Damming Chinook Salmon fry: Evidence for predation by non-native warmwater fishes in in reservoirs. Ecosphere 12(9):03757. DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3757 | September 2021 |
| Murphy C.A., Lee C.S, Johnson B., Arismendi I. and Johnson S.L. 2019. GrowChinook: A Linked Foraging and Bioenergetics Model for Juvenile Chinook Salmon Rearing in Lakes and Reservoirs. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 77(3): 564-575. DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-2018-0420 | September 2019 |
| Murphy C.A., Johnson S.L., Gerth W., Pierce, T. and Taylor G. 2021. Unintended consequences of selective water withdrawal: Thermal restoration may restructure downstream macroinvertebrate communities. DOI: 10.1029/2020WR029169 | Abstract | Publisher Website | June 2021 |
| Murphy C.A., Grenouillet G. and García-Berthou E. 2015. Natural abiotic factors more than anthropogenic perturbation shape the invasion of Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). Freshwater Science 34(4): 965-974. DOI: 10.1086/681948 | September 2015 |
| Murphy C.A., Gerth W., Pauk K., Konstantinidis P. and Arismendi I. 2020. Hiding in plain sight: Historical fish collections aid contemporary parasite research. Fisheries 45(5): 263-270. DOI: 10.1002/fsh.10411 | May 2020 |
| Murphy C.A., Gerth W., Neal T. and Arismendi I. 2022. A low-cost rigid plankton light trap design with specific wavelength LEDs and modifications for shallow and deep deployment. Neobiota. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.73.76515 | April 2022 |
| Murphy C.A., Gerth W., Arismendi I. 2020. Hatching and survival of the salmon gill maggot Salmincola californiensis (Copepoda: Lernaeopodidae) reveals extreme thermal dependence and undocumented naupliar stage. Parasitology. DOI: 10.1017/S0031182020001109 | October 2020 |
| Murphy C.A., Evans A., Coffin B., Arismendi I. and Johnson S.L. 2019. Resilience of zooplankton communities in temperate reservoirs with extreme water level fluctuations. Inland Waters 10(2). DOI: 10.1080/20442041.2019.1657349 | December 2019 |
| Murphy C.A., Casals F., Solà C., Caiola N., de Sostoa A. and García-Berthou E. 2013. Efficacy of population size structure as a bioassessment tool in freshwaters. Ecological Indicators 34: 571-579. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.06.007 | November 2013 |
| Murphy C.A., Arismendi I., Taylor G.A., and Johnson S.L. 2019. Evidence for lasting alterations to aquatic food webs with short-duration reservoir draining. PLOS ONE 14(2): e0211870. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211870 | February 2019 |
| Larson, M.S., A. Choudhury, E.N. Gardner, P. Konstantinidis, C.A. Murphy, M.L. Kent, J.T. Peterson, and C.E. Couch. 2024. Diet and Philonema oncorhynchi infections in reservoir-rearing juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Transactions of the American Fisheries Society153(3): 312-325. | Abstract | Publisher Website | May 2024 |
| Hamilton S.L., Murphy C.A., Johnson S.L. and Pollock A. 2022. Water quality ramifications of temporary drawdown of Oregon reservoirs to facilitate juvenile Chinook salmon passage. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402381.2021.2017082 | Publisher Website | January 2022 |
| Gerth, W.J., Murphy, C.A., and Arismendi, I. 2023. Caddisfly dives for oviposition: Record-shattering depths and poor life choices in a dammed river system. Freshwater Science. https://doi.org/10.1086/724053 | January 2023 |
| Gerth W., Li J., Van Driesche, R., Murphy C., Ganio L. and Skaugset A. 2022. Local and sub-basin effects of timber harvests on stream macroinvertebrates in Hinkle Creek watershed. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119923 | Publisher Website | February 2022 |
| Figueroa-Muñoz, G., Olivos, J.A., Arismendi, I., Fabiano, G., Laporta, M., Silveira, S., González-Bergonzoni, I., Pavez, G., Ernst, B., Ciancio, J.E., Harrod, C., Di Prinzio, C.Y., Chalde, T., Murphy, C.A., and Gomez-Uchida, D. Contemporary distribution of non-native Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in South America. Biological Invasions. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-023-03083-7 | May 2023 |
| Eberhardt, E., Murphy, C.A., Gerth, W., Konstantinidis, P., and Arismendi, I. Documenting historical anchorworm parasitism of introduced warmwater fishes in the Willamette River Basin, Oregon. Northwest Science 97:2. | June 2024 |
| Dunham J., Arismendi I., Murphy C.A, Koeberle A., Olivos J.A., Pearson J., Pickens F., Roon D.A. and Stevenson J. 2020. What to do when invaders are out of control? WIRES Water 7(5). DOI:10.1002/wat2.1476 | October 2020 |
| Bae M-J., Murphy C.A. and García-Berthou E. 2018. Temperature and hydrologic alteration predict the spread of invasive Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides). Science of the Total Environment. 639:58-66 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.001 | October 2018 |
| Allen, D.C., Larson, J., Murphy, C.A., Garcia, E.A., Anderson, K.E., Busch, M.H. et al. (2024) Global patterns of allochthony in stream–riparian meta-ecosystems. Ecology Letters, 27, e14401. | March 2024 |
| Project | Completion Date |
|---|---|
| Building international capacity for thermal mapping of rivers in a changing climate | July 2028 |
| Optimizing Sampling of PFAS in Maine Fishes by Improving our Understanding of Variability | December 2027 |
| MDIFW Lake Whitefish | August 2027 |
| MDIFW Arctic Charr | August 2029 |
| Ecosystem responses to the interacting forces of bridge improvements and beavers | August 2027 |
| BCG Model for Upper Tana Watershed Kenya | December 2026 |
| Yellow Lampmussel Range-Wide Assessment and Conservation | April 2026 |
| Trophic phenotypes as eco-evolutionary mediators of resilience to climate change | July 2026 |
| Wetland ecology of Northeastern lowland forests | December 2024 |
| Effects of Alewife Reintroductions | December 2023 |
| AquaPV Ecological modelling support | September 2024 |
| Yellow Lampmussel Habitat Assessment in the Connecticut River | April 2025 |
| Sustainable Rivers Program: Updating flow ecology assumptions | December 2025 |
| Lake food webs in Acadia National Park | May 2024 |
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Weedop, D., Romer, J., Ziller, J. and Murphy, C.A. 2022. Are Mountain Whitefish sentinels of change? Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting (virtual). | March 2022 |
| Weedop, D., Murphy, C.A. 2022. Community Interactions Within Acadia National Park’s Freshwater Food Webs. Poster presentation to the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting. Spokane, WA. | August 2022 |
| Trophic ontogeny of an elusive fish through eye lens stable isotope analysis. Schumacher, G.T., Murphy, C.A., Furey, N.B., Kinnison, M.T., Kronisch, G.R., Erdman, B., Peebles, E.B. Presentation for the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting. Honolulu, Hawai'i. September 15-19, 2024. | September 2024 |
| Schumacher, G.T., Murphy, C.A., Furey, N.B., Kinnison, M.T., Can trophic flexibility mitigate shifting habitat and community structure for a climate-sensitive fish? Presentation to Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. | June 2024 |
| Pham, K., Murphy, C.A., Romer, J.D., Stertz, K.A. 2024. Freshwater CSI: Chinook Salmon life-history influences how diagnostic structures relate to fish length. Presentation to the Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. | June 2024 |
| Njuguna, E., C. Murphy, C. Loftin, M. Hunter, D. Courtemanch, S. Horn, and P. Njoroge. 2022. Developing a Biotic Index for the Upper Tana Watershed, Kenya, using Community Science. Annual Meeting of the Association of Field Ornithologists, Plymouth, MA, 17-21 October. | October 2022 |
| Njuguna, E. Murphy, C.A., Loftin, C., Hunter, M., McGill, B., Courtemanch, D., Njoroge, P. 2024. Bridging community science and standardized bird-based biotic indices to advance watershed monitoring. Presentation to Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. | June 2024 |
| Murphy, C.A., Zydlewski, J. Gill maggots: helpful or headache? Presentation to the Atlantic Salmon Ecosystems Forum. January 2023. Orono, Maine. | January 2023 |
| Murphy, C.A., Olivos, J.A., Johnson, S.L., and Whiles, M.R. <b>Modelling aquatic ecosystems and food webs under global change, </b>Symposium Proposal for the 2022 Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting, May 14-20 Grand Rapids Michigan | May 2022 |
| Murphy, C.A., Olivos, J.A., Arismendi, I., Bellmore, J.R., Johnson, S.L., Dunham, J., Garcia-Berthou, E. 2022. In the GRAND scheme of things: Contributions of barriers and flow alterations to global freshwater fish imperilment. Presentation at the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting. Spokane, WA. | August 2022 |
| Murphy, C.A., Gerth, W., Wallick, J.R., White, J. 2024. Invertebrate Indicators of Environmental Flows in the Willamette Basin, Oregon. Presentation to the Society for Freshwater Sciences Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. | June 2024 |
| Murphy, C.A. and Arismendi I. Cruising faster than Usain Bolt. For submission as an EcoPic to Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. | March 2022 |
| Murphy, C.A. Understanding PFAS variability in fishes. Maine Sustainability & Water Conference. Augusta, ME. | March 2024 |
| Murphy, C.A. Phytoplankton to fish: An ecological exploration of reservoirs. Presentation to the Oregon Lakes Association Meeting. November 15, 2023. Corvallis, OR. | November 2023 |
| Murphy, C.A. 2021. Mothers of Fishes: Inspiration from the Past to the Future. <i>American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, </i>Baltimore, Maryland. | November 2021 |
| Murphy C.A., Antonelli K., Pollock A., Gerth W. and Arismendi I. (2021). Parasitic Copepodids in Upper Willamette River Reservoirs. Willamette Fisheries Science Review. <i>Virtual stakeholder meeting.</i> | April 2021 |
| Larson, M., Couch, C., Murphy, C.A., Diet and <i>Philonema</i> infections in reservoir-rearing juvenile Chinook Salmon (<i>Oncorhynchus tshawytscha</i>). To be presented at the Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Eugene, OR. | March 2023 |
| Kronisch, G.R., Furey, N.B., Kinnison, M.T., Murphy, C.A., Schumacher, G.T., Banister, T. (2024) Fine-scale Habitat Use by Landlocked Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in a Maine, USA Lake. Presentation for OTN Symposium. Halifax, Nova Scotia. | September 2024 |
| Gerth, W., Murphy, C.A., and Arismendi, I. 2022. Caddisflies make mistakes in a dammed river system. Poster presentation to the Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. | March 2022 |
| Figueroa-Muñoz, G., Murphy, C., and <b>Zydlewski, J.</b> (2024) Contrasting anadromous and landlocked Alewife interactions with lake food webs. The Atlantic Salmon Ecosystems Forum, University of Maine, Orono, Maine. January 9. | January 2023 |
| Figueroa, G., Murphy, C.A., Zydlewski, J. 2024. Understanding PFAS variability in fishes. Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. | June 2024 |
| Fedarick, J., Murphy, C.A., Record, S., Roy, A., Perkins, D. One Shell of a Home: Habitat Suitability for Yellow Lampmussel. Presentation to Northeast Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies. April 21-24 2024, Cape Cod, MA. | April 2024 |
| Fedarick, J., Murphy, C.A., Record, S., Roy, A., Perkins, D. 2024. Using museum collections to improve range wide modeling and conservation planning for at-risk mussel species. Presentation to the Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. | June 2024 |
| Farrington, S.J., C. Murphy, D. Perkins, and A.H. Roy. 2023. Range-wide ecology, conservation, and research needs for Yellow Lampmussel. Northeast Aquatic Biologists Meeting, 15-17 February 2023, Plymouth, MA. | February 2023 |
| Eberhardt, E., Gerth, W.J., Murphy, C.A., Konstantinidis, P., Arismendi, I. 2022. Anchors Away! Understanding historical Anchorworm parasitism of introduced warmwater fishes in the Willamette Basin, Oregon. Presentation at Research Advances in Fisheries and Wildlife. Corvallis, OR. | April 2022 |
| Bredeweg, E., Arismendi, I., Murphy, C.A., Henkel, S. The dark underside of floating solar panels: Iterative runs of CE-QUAL-W2 models as an assessment tool for understanding the effects of floating photovoltaic arrays on reservoir limnology. Presentation to the Oregon Lakes Association Meeting. November 15, 2023. Corvallis, OR. | November 2023 |
| Benson, S., Murphy, C.A., Charney, N., Eggert, S., Fraver, S., Kenefic, L. 2024. Maine’s Secret Clam Flats: The Aquatic Diversity of Northern White-Cedar Forests. Presentation to the Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. | June 2024 |
| Antonelli, K., Murphy, C.A., Pollock, A., Gerth, W., and Arismendi, I. 2022. Hunting tiny vampires: modeling the distribution of a salmonid ectoparasite in Willamette Valley Reservoirs. 2022 Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting (virtual). | March 2022 |
| Antonelli, K., Murphy, C.A., Pollock, A., Gerth, W., Arismendi, I. 2022. The (tiny) vampire diaries: exploring distribution, abundance, and in vitro development of the ectoparasite <i>Salmincola californiensis</i> in Willamette Valley Reservoirs. Presentation at the 61st Western Fish Disease Workshop. Hood River, Oregon. | May 2022 |
| Role and Organization | Individual | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Society for Freshwater Science - Member | Murphy | April 2014 | Present |
| Society for Freshwater Science - 2024 Coordinating Committee | Murphy | August 2022 | Present |
| International Society of Limnology - Member | Murphy | June 2017 | December 2023 |
| Gilbert Ichthyological Society, Oregon State University - Member, former President, former Oregon Council Representative, former Secretary, former Vice-President | Murphy | September 2007 | Present |
| American Society of Limnology and Oceanography - Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography member | Murphy | June 2017 | Present |
| American Fisheries Society - Northeastern Division, Mid-Atlantic Chapter member, former vice-president Oregon Chapter | Murphy | September 2012 | Present |
| American Association for the Advancement of Science - Member | Murphy | May 2017 | December 2023 |