Projects
Effects of climate change on marine fish
Our recent research provided insights on how climate change is likely to impact the distribution, growth, and survival of marine fishes, which is information that is critical for sound management. These include linking local and regional oceanography with patterns of larval dispersal and juvenile distribution for Pacific Cod (Hurst et al. 2018, Matta et al. 2018) and Alaskan Pollock (Wilson et al. 2018), two species that account for an average of 40% of the US total catch. We also examined the behavioral responses of a coastal flatfish to predation cues (Andrade et al., 2018) under elevated CO2 conditions. These studies, which were collaborative efforts with NOAA Alaska Fishery Science Center colleagues, demonstrate that these cold temperate fishes possess some resilience to climate change, an important consideration in climate science and fisheries management.
Marine heatwaves: impacts on marine fish
With funding from the North Pacific Research Board, we are examining thermal effects on the growth and survival of Pacific Cod in the Gulf of Alaska. Pacific Cod is an important commercial fisheries species but, after a marine heatwave known as the “Warm Blob”, the allowable catch of Pacific Cod was reduced by over 75% and then the fishery was entirely closed in 2020. This research will allow us to determine if, and how, the timing of spawning, early growth, and survival change as water temperature increases.
Ecology and Conservation of Pacific Lamprey
The Pacific Lamprey is an anadromous and native fish species in Oregon that has great cultural significance to tribal communities along the west coast of the US. We have partnered with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), and more recently, the Yakama Nation Fisheries Program and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, to evaluate methodologies to determine age, natal origin, and movement patterns in Pacific Lamprey. This fish has a cartilaginous, not a bony, skeleton. Therefore, traditional approaches to provide basic information, such as age, that rely on bone or ear stones (otoliths) cannot be used for lamprey. Therefore, we are exploring the use of alternative structures, such as statoliths and eye lenses, to provide this basic information necessary for management and conservation. We determined that the statolith, a structure in lamprey that is analogous to otoliths but has a different mineral structure, appears to stop growing when individuals metamorphose to their parasitic life stage and migrate to the ocean. However, the statolith can provide an excellent record of natal origin and robust age estimates until metamorphoses.
Biogeochemical markers:
validation and application of otolith chemistry
