The myxozoan parasite, Ceratomyxa shasta, is the most significant pathogen of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Klamath River, CA, USA. This parasite requires two hosts - a freshwater polychaete (Manayunkia speciosa) and a salmonid - to complete its life cycle. The complex life cycle and large geographic area...
Tidal wetland channels provide rearing habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon as they emigrate from freshwater habitat and prepare to enter the ocean. Widespread diking and drainage of estuarine marshes for agricultural and urban development may have contributed to a decline in salmon abundance in the Pacific Northwest, prompting efforts to...
Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) rearing in lakes and reservoirs have been known to become heavily infected with an ectoparasitic copepod (Salmincola californiensis). Little is known about the factors that affect the parasite infection prevalence and intensity. However, previous research suggests that the parasite may negatively affect the fitness and survival...
The performance of an organism or organismic subsystem is
the result of the interaction between the performance capacity of
the system and Its environment. Environmental conditions can
stress an organism and thus affect it's performance. In this
study, three whole organism performances were examined: critical
swimming speed, fatigue time and...
Research conducted on humpback whitefish Coregonus pidschian in the Copper River Delta, Alaska has revealed a complex life history involving seasonal migrations and the occupation of a variety of freshwater and marine habitats including lacustrine, riverine, estuarine, and marine. Forty-five whitefish were tagged with radio transmitters in 2006 and 2007,...
Patterns of settlement of larvae and population dynamics
of juveniles are poorly known for coral reef fishes. During
1987 to 1989, I studied these phenomena in the domino
damselfish (Dascyllus albisella), a species endemic to the
Hawaiian Islands. Larvae settle onto branching coral heads
as new recruits (10-15 mm in...
One of the biggest hurdles for a juvenile salmonid (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is migrating downstream from freshwater spawning grounds to the ocean. Juveniles from wild broodstock were reared from the South Santiam River for more than 1 year at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center (OHRC) in Alsea, OR. The fish were...
Hatcheries whose purpose is to provide for a recreational fishery must minimize impacts on wild fishes. Management to reduce hatchery and wild interactions is especially important on river systems that contain Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed species. I examined adult hatchery summer steelhead, Oncorhynchus mykiss, behavior, current management and a...
Climate change is a global phenomenon, but natural selection occurs within landscapes. A central tenet of landscape ecology is that mobile species depend on complementary habitats, which are insufficient in isolation, but combine to support animals through the full annual cycle. For coldwater fishes, it is widely assumed that maximum...
Parasitic infections and immune challenges can affect host reproductive fitness and, ultimately, the evolution of host populations in a myriad of ways. The fitness implications of parasitic infections range from increased host mortality to subtle changes in reproductive investment. From alterations of behaviors, sexual signaling, and competitive ability to changes...