Microplastics (i.e. plastic particles ranging in size from 1 μm to 5 mm) are an understudied emerging pollutant in rural rivers that may pose significant health risks to organisms, and their monitoring is resource‐intensive and costly. This study quantifies microplastic consumption in the Monongahela River, West Virginia, USA in three sympatric black bass species: largemouth bass ( Micropterus nigricans ), smallmouth bass ( Mi...

For lotic salmonids, pool habitats are critical to persistence and resilience. In the central Appalachians, brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchill 1814) is an imperiled species that relies on pool habitats for refuge during drought and for spawning. We sought to study trends in pool habitats by studying habitat distribution and trends in 25 headwater systems over 18 years. Our analysis documented a significant decreasing...