Dean E. Fletcher

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
P O Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802
(803) 725-9609 office
(803) 725-3309 fax
fletcher(at)srel.edu

Dean Fletcher has worked extensively in SRS streams over the past 20 years. Much work has focused on the life histories of southeastern fishes with emphasis on the reproductive biology of sunfish and minnow species. However, he has conducted a diverse array of projects including characterization of fish movements in contaminated streams, quantification of reservoir escapement, stream habitat and fish community assessments, use of animals as bioindicators of metal and metalloid contamination, and co-authoring a regional fish book. His program is focused on establishing a baseline of disturbance for SRS streams, with a long term goal of establishing a headwater stream mitigation bank. This is an ever-expanding collaborative effort initiated by the USDA Forest Service, University of Kentucky, and SREL. Of particular interest is assessment of long-term effects of 19th and early to mid 20th century land use on headwater streams.

SELECTED PROJECT SUMMARIES:

• Fishes of the Middle Savannah River Basin with Emphasis on the Savannah River Site
• Geckos as Indicators of Mining Pollution
• Establishing a Baseline of Disturbance in Savannah River Site Steams—Project Update
• Enhancement of Disturbed Upper Coastal Plain Stream Systems: Establishing Restoration Criteria and Strategies

PEER REVIEWED MANUSCRIPTS:

Fletcher, D. E., W. A. Hopkins, T. Saldaña, J. A. Baionno, C. Arribas, M. M. Standora, and C. Fernández-Delgado. 2006. Geckos as Indicators of Mining Pollution. Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry 25:2432-2445.

M. H. Paller, D. E. Fletcher, M. M. Standora, T. B. Grabowski, T. A. Jones, S. A. Dyer, and J. J. Isely. 2006. Emigration of fish from Two South Carolina Cooling Reservoirs. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 26:976-982.

Hinton, T. G., D. I. Kaplan, A. S. Knox, D. P. Coughlin, R. V. Nascimento, S. I. Watson, D. E. Fletcher, and Bon-Jun Koo. 2006. Use of Illite Clay for In situ Remediation of ¹³⁷CS-Contaminated Water Bodies: Field Demonstration of Reduced Biological Uptake. Environmental Science & Technology 40:4500-4505.

Paller, M. H., D. E. Fletcher, T. Jones, S. A. Dyer, J. J. Isely, and J. W. Littrell. 2005. Potential of largemouth bass as vectors of ¹³⁷Cs dispersal. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 80:27-43.

Fletcher, D. E., E. E. Dakin, B. A. Porter, and J. C. Avise. 2004. Spawning behavior and genetic parentage in the pirate perch (Aphredodoerus sayanus), a fish with an enigmatic reproductive morphology. Copeia 2004:1-10.

Mackiewicz, M., D. E. Fletcher, S. D. Wilkins, J. A. DeWoody, and J. C. Avise. 2002. A genetic assessment of parentage in a natural population of dollar sunfish (Lepomis marginatus) based on microsatellite markers. Molecular Ecology 11:1877-1883.

Kolka, R. K., C. C. Trettin, E. A. Nelson, C. D. Barton, and D. E. Fletcher. 2002. Application of the EPA wetland research program approach to a floodplain wetland restoration assessment. Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Restoration 1:37-51.

Avise, J. C., A. G. Jones, D. Walker, J. A. DeWoody, E. Dakin, A. Fiumera, D. Fletcher, M. Mackiewicz, B. Porter, and S. D. Wilkins. 2002. Genetic mating systems and reproductive natural histories of fishes: lessons for ecology and evolution. Annual Review of Genetics 36:19-45.

Fletcher, D. E., S. D. Wilkins, J V. McArthur, and G. K. Meffe. 2000. Influence of riparian alteration on canopy coverage and macrophyte abundance in southeastern blackwater streams. Ecological Engineering 15:S67-S78.

DeWoody, J. A., D. E. Fletcher, S. D. Wilkins, W. S. Nelson, and J. C. Avise. 2000. Genetic monogamy and biparental care in an externally-fertilizing fish, the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Proceedings of the Royal Society 267:2431-2437.

DeWoody, J. A., D. E. Fletcher, M. Mackiewicz, S. D. Wilkins, and J. C. Avise. 2000. The genetic mating system of spotted sunfish (Lepomis punctatus): mate numbers and the influence of male reproductive parasites. Molecular Ecology 9:2119-2128.

DeWoody, J. A., D. E. Fletcher, S. D. Wilkins, and J. C. Avise. 2000. Parentage and nest guarding in the tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi) assayed by microsatellite markers (Perciformes: Percidae). Copeia 2000:740-747.

Fletcher, D. E. 1999. Male ontogeny and size-related variation in mass allocation of bluenose shiners (Pteronotropis welaka). Copeia 1999:479-486.

Fletcher, D. E. and S. D. Wilkins. 1999. Glue secretion and adhesion by larvae of the sailfin shiner (Pteronotropis hypselopterus). Copeia 1999:274-280.

DeWoody, J. A., D. E. Fletcher, S. D. Wilkins, W. S. Nelson, and J. C. Avise. 1998. Molecular genetic dissection of spawning, parentage, and reproductive tactics in a population of redbreast sunfish, Lepomis auritus. Evolution 52:1802-1810.

Fletcher, D. E. 1993. Nest association of dusky shiners (Notropis cummingsae) and redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus), a potentially parasitic relationship. Copeia 1993:159-167.

Fletcher, D. E. and B. M. Burr. 1992. Reproductive biology, larval description, and diet of the North American bluehead shiner, Pteronotropis hubbi (Cyprinidformes: Cyprinidae), with comments on conservation status. Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters 3:193-218.

PUBLISHED BOOKS

Marcy, B. C., D. E. Fletcher, F. D. Martin, M. H. Paller, and M. J. M. Reichert. 2005. Fishes of the Middle Savannah River Basin with emphasis on the Savannah River Site. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia and London. 462 p.

BOOK CHAPTERS

Fletcher, D. E., W. A. Hopkins, M. M. Standora, C. Arribas, J. A. Baionno, T. Saldaña, and Carlos Fernández-Delgado. 2008. Geckos as indicators of urban pollution. In: J. C. Mitchell, R. E. Jung Brown, and B. Bartholomew (eds.), Urban Herpetology, Herpetological Conservation, Volume 3:225-237. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Salt Lake City.

GRANTS

Fletcher, D. E. and J V. McArthur. 1999. Movement of contaminated fish between SRS streams and the Savannah River. Funded by Bechtel-ER/ERDA, Received: March 1999, $60,662. Collaborating groups: Clemson University, WSTRC, Bechtel-ER.

Fletcher, D. E. and J V. McArthur. 2000. Movement of contaminated fish between SRS streams and the Savannah River. Funded by Bechtel-ER/ERDA. Received: August 2000 $3,000; September 2000, $59,774. Collaborating groups: Clemson University, WSTRC, WSR-EM, Bechtel-ER.

Fletcher, D. E. and J V. McArthur. 2001. Population size and movement of contaminated fish between lakes and steams on the SRS and the Savannah River. Funded by Bechtel-ER. Received: September 2001, $136,500. Collaborating groups: Clemson University, WSTRC, WSR-EM, Bechtel-ER.

Fernández-Delgado, C., D. E. Fletcher, and collaborators. 2002. Ecological Characterization of the Fish Communities of the Guadiamar River. Funded by Oficina Técnica del Corredor Verde del Guadiamar of the Consejería de Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Andalucía. $26,000.

Fletcher, D. E. 2006. Stream studies on the Savannah River Site, Funded by UK/USDA FS. Received: February 2006, $123,946.

Fletcher, D. E. 2007. Stream studies on the Savannah River Site Continuance, Funded by UK/USDA FS. Received: August 2007, $70,000.

Fletcher, D. E. 2008. Stream studies on the Savannah River Site Continuance, Funded by UK/USDA FS. Received: October 2008, $6,664.

McArthur, J V., R. R. Sharitz, D. E. Fletcher, J.C. Seaman, and E. A. Nelson. 2008. Baseline studies of water and soil quality, aquatic macroinvertebrate communities, and vegetation in an area adjacent to the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility Construction Site. Received: December 2008, $219,000.

Fletcher, D. E. 2009. Stream studies on the Savannah River Site Continuance, Funded by UK/USDA FS. Received: Pending, $61,237.