Seasonal habitat availability, utilization, and selection by young
of the year (< 25 mm) and adult (>25 mm) redside shiner, Richardsonius
balteatus, were studied for 1 year in sections of Greasy Creek, Benton
County, Oregon. Intensive stream mapping procedures and snorkling
observations provided most of the quantitative measures for habitat...
An aspect of the genetic structure of coastal Oregon steelhead was
explored and found to gradually change in a north to south pattern for the
allelic frequencies of several enzymes. Isocitrate dehydrogenase and
superoxide dehydrogenase were the clearest examples of this pattern of
variation. This pattern was most evident in...
The objectives of this study were to (1) describe
physical environmental conditions and species composition
at several sites along an Upstream/downstream gradient in a
number of tributaries of the Willamette River in western
Oregon; and (2) identify possible relationships between
species distributional patterns and physical habitat
parameters using detrended correspondence...
Newly emerged steelhead fry (Oncorhynchus mvkiss) of hatchery and
wild origins were studied in laboratory stream channels and natural
streams. Objectives of the study were to determine if and how earlier
emerging hatchery fry influence the emigration, realized densities,
growth, habitat use, social structure, and activity patterns of
localized populations...
Documentation of the seasonal feeding habits and ability to
assimilate algae are presented for the first time for a North American
grazing stream fish. The chiselmouth, Acrocheilus alutaceus, begins
feeding on algal matter in early spring and has deposited large fat
reserves prior to an early summer spawning season. A...
Considerable controversy exists about how fish assemblages are
organized. I explicitly took fish movement into account while I
studied the effects of disturbance, habitat complexity, and predation
at different times of the summer to understand the major factors
influencing assemblage structure in a high desert Oregon stream. The
effects of...
Redband trout density was examined in three forested streams in central
Oregon at two scales, pool channel unit and microhabitat. Two streams were in
roadless areas and one was in a "highly managed" watershed. At the larger
spatial scale, trout displayed a seasonal shift in habitat use from early to...
This study examined the distribution and behavior of adult spring chinook salmon
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) related to patterns of stream temperature and physical
habitat at channel unit, reach, and basin-wide spatial scales in both a wilderness stream
and a disturbed stream in the John Day River basin in northeastern Oregon. Thermal...
Marine ecosystems can be exposed to natural and anthropogenic disturbances that can lead to ecological failures. Marine reserves have been lately suggested to protect marine populations and communities that have been affected by habitat destruction and harvest. This research evaluates the potential role of two marine reserves established in Oregon...
I examined habitat electivity and movement patterns of adult spring chinook salmon at microhabitat and channel unit spatial scales, and seasonal to annual temporal scales in seven streams in the Grande Ronde, John Day, and Imnaha basins. The objective was to compare habitat use and availability among streams, channel units,...
The extent of biological invasions, their role on the feeding of
native fishes and their impact on community stability were
investigated in Alsea Bay and Yaquina Bay, two estuaries on the
central Oregon coast, USA. Most nonindigenous species (NIS)
introduced in these intermediately invaded estuaries are
considered byproducts of culturing...
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been absent from their historic spawning and rearing grounds in the Metolius River Basin in central Oregon since 1968, when fish passage was terminated at the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project on the Deschutes River. Plans have been developed to reestablish passage of anadromous fish...
Fish assemblage structure was determined along a longitudinal
gradient for three drainages in the upper John Day basin: Middle
Fork, South Fork, and upper Mainstem proper. One or two tributaries
in each drainage were included. Where possible, sites were paired:
those with good versus those with poor riparian habitat. Detrended...
The decline of many Pacific salmon stocks has stimulated interest in the early life history and habitat requirements of juvenile salmon. Although estuarine habitat associations of juvenile salmon have been investigated in many coastal areas of the eastern Pacific Ocean, until recently, little was known about juvenile salmonid ecology within...
The effects of potential parental egg production and
environmental factors on year-class strength (YCS) of petrale sole
(Eopsetta jordani) were investigated in two areas off Oregon and
Washington (Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission areas 2B: 42°
50'N - 44°18'N, and 3A: 45° 46'N - 47°20'N). Indices of YCS based on...
New approaches are needed to quantify and understand spatial patterns of stream fishes and their environment. Concepts in riverine ecology emphasize the importance of thermal zones and gradual longitudinal changes in physical habitat and biota, but little is known about spatial variability within the river continuum. I present a conceptual...
Understanding seasonal changes in growth, survival, and movement rates is
crucial to salmonid management. These life history characteristics provide a context for
evaluation of management actions. We evaluated the life history of individually
marked Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri in the South Fork John Day River basin in
Northeastern Oregon. This thesis...
Seasonally, in 1998 and 1999, I examined spatial and temporal variation in fish assemblages of agricultural, forested, and acid mine drainage tributaries within the Wayne National Forest (WNF) in southern Ohio. Land use and natural disturbance explained patterns in stream fish assemblages. Creek chub and green sunfish were present in...
Reproduction of salmonid fishes in acidic water was studied
using the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). Adult trout were exposed
to various levels of hydrogen ion (pH levels 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and
control [6.5 to 7.1]) during the final 6 weeks of reproductive
maturation. Reduced survival rates of the progeny of...
Although differences between selective pressures in hatcheries
and streams have been theorized to cause genetic divergence between
hatchery and wild salmonids, evidence of this is lacking. This study
was initiated to document the presence or absence of genetic change
in hatchery and wild stocks by characterizing genetic traits in fish...
Genetic differences between early and late forms of
Alaskan chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were
identified using two genetic approaches: mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA) analysis and protein electrophoresis. The
study populations consisted of early- and late-run chinook
salmon in each of the Kenai and Kasilof rivers in Alaska,
and a single population...
Because riparian canopy controls most energy inputs to stream
ecosystems, it directly affects the structure of aquatic food webs and the
ecological processes that govern interactions among trophic levels. This
study addresses the interdependence among riparian canopy, benthic
community structure, and the carrying capacity of high desert streams for
salmonid...
Pacific lampreys (Lampetra tridentata) have declined in abundance in the Columbia River Basin. Although, the reasons for the decline are unclear, we suggest that development of hydroelectric dams and habitat alterations in tributaries as the main causes. The available knowledge of life history of Pacific lampreys and status from dam...
Once historically widespread throughout the Willamette and Umpqua
River drainages, the Willamette Oregon chub is now restricted to
scattered populations along 15 miles of the Middle Fork of the
Willamette River whereas the Umpqua Oregon chub is still widely
distributed. The decline in the Willamette drainage was more severe
because...
Streams in the Alsea and Nestucca Sub-Basins were characterized using suites of habitat attributes at the pool and reach scales. These suites were analyzed using a multivariate process with the Multiple Response Permutation Procedure (MRPP) to test for differences in groups. There were differences in the suite of habitat variables...
Identifying appropriate units for conservation requires knowledge of evolutionary
patterns and risks of managing at different geographical and genetic scales. I examined
genetic diversity at different geographical scales among 11,400 rainbow trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) from 243 locations in 13 major river basins throughout much of
their range and among coho...
This study examined fish movements and assemblage dynamics in the Wenaha, Grande Ronde, Snake river system of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington. I investigated the role of fish movement in the dynamics of stream fish assemblages and evaluated relationships between species movement, assemblage structure, and the heterogeneity of habitat at...
This study evaluates the functional organization of stream fish assemblages in response to streamflow factors and biotic interactions across a range of spatial scale. The study area for this project includes 109 stream reaches located on tributaries to the upper Missouri River in the northern Great Plains. Fish distribution data...
In this dissertation, new theory and its applications are developed to predict three properties of complex ecological communities: stability, equilibrium response, and non-equilibrium dynamics. First, a graph-theoretic analysis identifies the interconnections in a complex ecosystem that promote or diminish stability (Chapter 2). The hierarchy of interactions that influences stability and...
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Philippe A. Rossignol HiramW. Li
In this dissertation, new theory and its
The overall goal of this study was to identify multiple scales of habitat use and habitat electivity by redband/steelhead trout and define the limiting factors affecting the distribution patterns of this species during summer flows.
The main objective in chapter 2 was to identify the most important habitat associations that...
Anadromous coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii may be highly dependent on estuaries, passing through them multiple times during their lifetime. However, few studies have investigated estuarine use by coastal cutthroat trout and it is often thought that estuaries serve primarily as migration corridors rather than rearing areas. We used...
The fact that African Americans are under represented in the natural
resource professions is well known and commonly acknowledged. Terms such
as conspicuously absent, manifest imbalance and zero representation have all
been used to describe the current status of African American natural resource
professionals. The data suggests that in the...
Nest sites of reticulate sculpin (Cottus perplexus) were located in two stream reaches, one from a basalt basin and one from a sandstone basin. Stream reaches were similar in gradient, basin area, elevation, climate, and riparian vegetation but differed in biologic community structure and substrate characteristics. An electivity index was...
Crosses were made between a stock of summer steelhead (Salmo
gairdneri) known to be resistant to infection by Ceratomyxa
shasta and stocks of summer steelhead known to be susceptible.
Ceratomyxosis, the disease caused by C. shasta was initiated by
exposure to Willamette River water. I found that the crosses
were...
I examined the relative roles of biotic and abiotic factors in structuring redband trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss distributions in the South Fork John Day. I first examined the
relationship between the biological traits of the fish assemblage and riparian-geomorphic features in context of prevailing theories of stream ecology stemming from the...
This work sets forth a reformulation of Levins' loop analysis for the qualitative modeling of complex dynamical systems. Relationships between members of ecological communities can be analyzed through a qualitatively specified community matrix, whereby +1, -1, or 0 represent effects of one species upon another. A contribution is made to...
Shallow-water habitats (< 0.5 m depth) of the upper littoral zone of John Day Pool of the Columbia River were heavily used by young fishes in comparison with lower littoral and limnetic waters. Through the season, 96.9% of the 64,700 larvae and juveniles collected (corrected for effort) were from upper...
The dissertation introduces community-based adaptive watershed management (CAWM) as a holistic conservation framework. The CAWM
framework integrates social and ecological suitability to achieve conservation outcomes. The core theoretical concepts consist of adaptive management, adoption-diffusion,
symbolic interactionism, community-based conservation, spatial analysis and watershed management. The CAWM framework is applied to the...
Recent studies suggest that competition from brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis; EBT) may have negative effects (e.g. displacement) on Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi; LCT). Results from these studies have failed to elucidate the responsible mechanisms and have not examined if changing environmental conditions result in competitive/subordinate role reversals. The...
The Northern California Current (NCC) ecosystem exhibits extreme seasonal, interannual and interdecadal shifts in the abiotic environment and shifts in primary and higher production. This variability is also apparent in the spatial structure of the ecosystem with nearshore-shelf waters (<150 m isobath) being highly productive and having a different community...
The goal of this research was to characterize thermal habitat requirements for juvenile redband steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) in the South Fork John Day River (SFJD), Oregon using physiological indicators of fish condition. Physiological indices of fish condition measured were whole body lipid content and heat shock proteins, specifically...
The goal of this research was to characterize thermal habitat requirements for juvenile redband steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) in the South Fork John Day River (SFJD), Oregon using physiological indicators of fish condition. Physiological indices of fish condition measured were whole body lipid content and heat shock proteins, specifically...