Emmanuel Frimpong

About

Professor Emmanuel Frimpong is a faculty member in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech, with a research focus on the ecology and conservation of freshwater fishes. His work emphasizes understanding how anthropogenic alterations to habitats and landscapes, such as agriculture, aquaculture, urban development, introduction of nonnative species, and climate change, affect fish species differently based on their life history traits and biotic interactions. A major theme in his research is explaining the determinants of fish distributions, predicting how these distributions will respond to environmental changes, and developing management and conservation solutions. His research extends to sustainable aquaculture production, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, as an alternative to overexploitation of natural fisheries to support growing and urban populations in developing countries. Professor Frimpong has contributed to courses on fisheries techniques, fish ecology, and landscape ecology, and has been involved in research projects related to climate adaptation of tilapia populations and regional fish distribution modeling. He holds degrees from the University of Science & Technology in Ghana, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Virginia Tech, and Purdue University.

Research topics

• Biology
• Ecology
• Geography
• Fishery
• Environmental resource management
• Agroforestry
• Environmental science

Selected publications

• Positive biotic interactions in freshwaters: A review and research directive

  Freshwater Biology · 2020 · 82 citations

  Abstract Positive interspecific interactions such as mutualism, commensalism, and facilitation are globally ubiquitous. Although research on positive interactions in terrestrial and marine systems has progressed over the past few decades, comparatively little is known about them in freshwater ecosystems. However, recent advances have brought the study of positive interactions in freshwater systems to a point where synthesis is warranted. In this review, we catalogue the variety of direct positiv…

  DOI

• Toward Improved Understanding of Streamflow Effects on Freshwater Fishes

  Fisheries · 2022 · 58 citations

  Abstract Understanding the effects of hydrology on fish populations is essential to managing for native fish conservation. However, despite decades of research illustrating streamflow influences on fish habitat, reproduction, and survival, biologists remain challenged when tasked with predicting how fish populations will respond to changes in flow regimes. This uncertainty stems from insufficient understanding of the context-dependent mechanisms underlying fish responses to, for example, periods…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• An approach to assess data-less small-scale fisheries: examples from Congo rivers

  Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries · 2023-03-21 · 24 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Small-scale fisheries (SSF) account for much of the global fish catch, but data to assess them often do not exist, impeding assessments of their historical dynamics and status. Here, we propose an approach to assess 'data-less' SSF using local knowledge to produce data, life history theory to describe their historical multispecies dynamics, and length-based reference points to evaluate stock status. We demonstrate use of this approach in three data-less SSFs of the Congo Basin. Fishers' recalls…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Predicting climatic threats to an endangered freshwater mussel in Europe: The need to account for fish hosts

  Freshwater Biology · 2022-02-28 · 23 citations

  article

  Abstract The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera has been suffering major population declines in Europe. This endangered species is a host specialist and exclusively requires salmonid species ( Salmo trutta and Salmo salar ) to complete its life cycle. In theory, obligatory biotic interactions should deserve special conservation attention, because the loss or massive decline of fish hosts may elicit the extirpation of their affiliated species. While many threats disturbing M. mar…

  PublisherDOI

• Land-use and land-cover affect inland fish catch in two rivers of Central Africa

  Water Biology and Security · 2022-08-21 · 7 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Land-cover change can affect inland fisheries, which underpin food security of millions of people worldwide. Removal of forests from very large floodplains has been found to decrease fish catch via loss of feeding and nursery habitat for fish. However, it is unknown if similar effects occur in smaller rivers with limited floodplain areas. Little is also known about the mechanisms by which land-cover changes affect inland fish catch. Here, we assessed land-use and land-cover (LULC) effects on fis…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• RIG: Testing the Effect of Context on a Nest Association Mutualism of Stream Fishes in a Comparative-Advantage Biological Market Framework

  NSF · $207k · 2011–2014

Frequent coauthors

• Toundji Olivier Amoussou

  29 shared

• Ibrahim Imorou Toko

  26 shared

• Luc Houngbe

  BARKA Foundation

  21 shared

• Paul L. Angermeier

  19 shared

• Brandon K. Peoples

  Clemson University

  18 shared

• Ryan A. McManamay

  Baylor University

  9 shared

• Steve E. Lochmann

  University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

  7 shared

• Hillary Egna

  7 shared

Labs

• Emmanuel Frimpong LabPI

Similar researchers at Virginia Tech

• James (Jim) Fraserh-55
• William Hopkinsh-48