LEETOWN, W.Va. — USGS scientist Vicki Blazer received the American Fisheries Society 2010 Publications Award for her article investigating the mortality of fish in the Potomac River basin. Blazer, a fish biologist at the Leetown Science Center, received the award at the AFS 141st Annual Meeting in Seattle on Sept. 6. The research was a collaborative effort between the USGS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state agencies in West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia, and the Potomac Riverkeeper.
AFS awards one article from each of its six journals every year. Blazer’s paper, “Mortality of Centrarchid Fishes in the Potomac Drainage: Survey Results and Overview of Potential Contributing Factors,” was published in the Journal of Aquatic Animal Health. Blazer was also recently recognized as the Protector of the Potomac by the Potomac RiverKeeper for her research on pathogenic factors that affect fish health.