More than 1500 species of plants and animals in the United States are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Departments of Interior and Commerce are required, under Section 4(f)(1) of the ESA, to develop recovery plans for ESA-listed species under the respective agency...
Depleted species of rockfish (Sebastes spp.) from the Northeast Pacific experience high discard mortality due to "barotrauma," induced from the rapid change in pressure during capture. Research suggests rockfish have the potential to survive barotrauma if immediately recompressed, but the potential for long-term recovery is unknown. In this project, we...
To best manage Eagle Creek National Fish Hatchery and minimize any negative impacts that the current hatchery program may be having on Endangered Species Act-listed salmonids in the Eagle Creek Basin, I determined if wild fish are being displaced from preferred habitats by hatchery salmonids Oncorhynchus spp. This thesis had...
The extensive reduction in adult Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) counts at many hydroelectric dams in the northwestern USA signals a substantial decline in lamprey numbers across the entire region in the past 40 to 50 years. Among the many potential causes of this decline, obstruction of migration routes has likely...
This study was undertaken to determine if strontium chloride could be used to create a trans-generational otolith mark in steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). I completed two strontium injection trials and a survey of juvenile steelhead from various steelhead hatcheries. The two trials measured Sr:Ca ratios in otoliths in response to injections...
Many economically important Pacific salmon fisheries along the west coast of North America are mixed-stock, recreational systems, in which managers strive to account for interactions between fish, anglers, and management policy while balancing fishery access against conservation of vulnerable stocks. Specific challenges facing fisheries managers include limited control over angling...
Gene expression profiles of tissues and cell-lines can be powerful tools for documenting the genetic response to a particular treatment, such as stressors. However, there is a paucity of information on the genetic stress response in the brain. Therefore, we attempted to profile gene expression in the brain of juvenile...
A number of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) populations are at risk throughout Oregon, including five populations that are federally listed as threatened or endangered. However, little is known about behavior and survival of these fish as they transition from freshwater to seawater. We investigated whether estuarine survival varies on a temporal...
Three experiments were designed to determine if and how steelhead trout,
Oncorhynchus mykiss, may affect chinook salmon, O. tshawytscha, when they are
confined together as in a raceway or on a barge. We observed groups of chinook and
steelhead together and groups of only chinook in a behavioral experiment to...
Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus is a valuable icon and traditional food source for Indigenous people of western North America. Native Americans have utilized traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) since time immemorial to guide their ways of life, transmitting cultural values and natural history to further generational knowledge. Pacific lamprey are in...