Corbin Hilling
Fisheries Biologist
Research
Doctoral Research
My doctoral research focused on estimation of spatiotemporal variation in Blue Catfish growth in Virginia's tidal rivers, where the species was introduced in the 1970s and '80s. The results of growth modeling informed a size-based population dynamic model to better understand the population from the early 1990s to present. Using estimated demographics from population modeling and a simulation model, I evaluated management strategies to assess population responses with regard to population size and size structure, as well as predation on important native species. The results quantify tradeoffs associated with managing this non-native species given diverse stakeholder interests.
Published Works
Hilling CD, Y Jiao, AJ Bunch, RS Greenlee, JD Schmitt, DJ Orth. In press. Growth dynamics of invasive Blue Catfish in four subestuaries of the Chesapeake Bay, USA. Submitted to: North American Journal of Fisheries Management. Full Text
Hilling CD, JL Fischer, J Ross, S Qain, TR Tucker, RL DeBruyne, CM Mayer, EF Roseman. 2021. Nearshore fish species richness and species-habitat associations in the St. Clair-Detroit River System. Water 13, 1616. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13121616. Full Text.
Schmitt JD, CD Hilling, DJ Orth. 2021. Estimates of food consumption rates for invasive Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 150(4):465–476. Full Text.
Orth DJ, JD Schmitt, CD Hilling. 2020. Hyperbole, simile, metaphor, and invasivore: messaging about non-native Blue Catfish expansion. Fisheries 45(12):638–646. Full Text
Hilling CD, Y Jiao, AJ Bunch, QE Phelps. 2020. A simulation study to evaluate biases in population characteristics estimation associated with varying bin numbers in size-based age subsampling. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 40(3):675–690. Full Text
Hilling CD, AJ Bunch, JA Emmel, JD Schmitt, DJ Orth. 2019. Growth and mortality of invasive flathead catfish in the tidal James River, Virginia. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 10:641-652. Full Text
Schmitt JD, JA Emmel, AJ Bunch, CD Hilling, DJ Orth. 2019. Feeding ecology and distribution of an invasive apex predator: flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) in subestuaries of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, USA. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 39: 390–402. Full-text
Stang SA, CD Hilling, DJ Orth. 2019. Lessons learned from 35 years of students organizing the Mudbass Classic. Fisheries 44:115–117.
Hilling CD., AJ Bunch, RS Greenlee, DJ Orth and Y Jiao. 2018. Natural mortality and size structure of introduced blue catfish in Virginia tidal rivers. Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 5:30–38.
Hilling CD, SL Wolf, JR Copeland, DJ Orth and EM Hallerman. 2018. Occurrence of two non-indigenous catostomid fishes in the New River, Virginia. Northeastern Naturalist 25(2): 215–221.
Hilling CD, Welsh SA, Smith DM. 2016. Age, growth and fall diet of channel catfish in
Cheat Lake, West Virginia. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 7(2): 304–314.