About the lab

The Salmon Watersheds Lab (SWL) at Simon Fraser University is a large, collaborative aquatic ecology research lab focused on salmon systems in western Canada. The SWL consists of between 12 and 25 staff and students at any given time, collaborating with more than 40 partner organizations and engaging in research across nine different projects, many of which include fieldwork across British Columbia.

Our Mission

To understand the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems, from headwaters to estuaries, and inform their conservation and management, with a primary focus on salmon systems.

New Paper Alert!

Surfing the tidal wave: Use of transiently aquatic habitat by
juvenile Pacific salmon and other fishes in estuaries

Read Here

A Peek Into Our Work: Science News

Research finds some Pacific salmon migration out of sync with food supply

Juvenile salmon in British Columbia are growing larger than they did 100 years ago due to climate change

Glacier retreat is creating a new habitat for salmon in western North America

Photo Credit: Marco Tjokro

Different day, seine sh*t 🫠😂

A timelapse showing a pole seine set by one of our field teams led by SWL PhD student Phoebe! Phoebe’s research focuses on juvenile salmonid use of estuaries, and so the fieldwork for her research involves seine after seine looking for juvenile salmon in estuaries across Vancouver Island and Bella Coola. We call it inseinity!

Once the seine is pulled up, fish are put into buckets with aerators, where they are measured and identified.

This year, having started in early April, they have been seeing a lot of chum and are now seeing more coho!

Footage taken by Erica Lee 📸❣️

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#seine #seineeveryday #seinetilyoudrop #goinginseine #justkidding

Recently, a few of our co-advised MSc students, Jamie and Katrina, headed to the North Thompson to do some sampling in wetlands! Jamie’s research focuses on off-channel habitat and restoration potential in the Deadman, and Katrina’s will be focusing on juvenile use of wetland habitat.

*No nets used or froggies harmed in the first pic 😘🐸

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#wetland #norththompson #fieldwork #salmon #juvenile

Earlier this month, folks from our lab got to participate in a 4WD operations course with @arc_offroad_training ��🚘🏔️

The course was fun and informative, and gave students and staff more confidence in driving our beloved lab truck heading into a busy field season.

We’re feeling super grateful to @arc_offroad_training and our lovely instructors, Kim and Mike 🫶😄

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#hotwheels #truck #vroom #driving

How does the saying go? Is it science imitates art? 🤭🖼️

A little while ago, we were lucky enough to able to commission the talented @monikaloevenmark_art to create a design for us based on some of the work that our lab does.

Using watercolour paints, she’s done an incredible job of encapsulating the dynamic and multidimensional salmon systems that we work with. It is so exciting and cool to see science and art in action together!

We are simply so excited about the final product, and look forward to sharing this new design with folks moving forward☺️🐟

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#art #science #salmon #lab #fish #sciencecommunication #scienceart

It’s been a busy few weeks for the lab! Last week, a handful of SWL lab folks attended the American Fisheries Society Washington-British Columbia Chapter conference. This conference was a wonderful opportunity for lab members to share their work, as well connect with and be inspired by the work of many others in our field.

Thank you @americanfisheries and @afs.wabc for putting on an excellent event 🐟🤓🌱

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#conference #fish #afs #washington #britishcolumbia

Yesterday, a few of our lab mates presented at IDEAS - the Inter-Departmental Ecology of Aquatic Species Symposium (it’s a mouthful!) at SFU. This annual symposium is an amazing way for folks in the Biology and Resource and Environmental Management (REM) departments to share their work with their colleagues, mentors, and peers.

A big shoutout to the IDEAS organizing committee (including our very own Emma Griggs and Hutton Noth) for putting on yet another fantastic event! As well, we’d like to congratulate our undergraduate research assistant Carter Tsui for winning People’s Choice with his talk about his honours thesis.

Last but not least, a shameless plug - Carter did part of his work on the Xwésam (Salmon) River on the island. Right now, @naturetrustbc must raise $294,000 by April 9th to conserve more than 100 acres of floodplain forest along this river - and they are looking for folks to donate! On behalf of Carter and our lab, please consider heading over to the link in our bio to find out more and donate 🏞️❣️🗣️

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#salmon #presentation #symposium #simonfraseruniversity #talk #estuary #seastars #temperature #policy

NEW PAPER ALERT! 🤩🗣️

Before her PhD research brought her to study glacier retreat in northern watersheds, Britt spent another life (read: Masters) focusing on juvenile coho use of wetlands in the North Thompson. Whether she encountered more bugs or fish in her Masters we’ll never know (note the Buff and hat as PPE), but what we do know is that we are super proud of her paper being published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences!

Click on the link on our bio to read the full thing 🫶🌱

#salmonresearch #paper #published #newpaper #environment #wetlands #norththompson

✨ Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! ✨ We may be a little biased, but we’re lucky to have some of the most brilliant and inspiring women in our lab! Here’s to breaking barriers, pushing boundaries, and shaping the future of science. Keep shining! 💫

#WomenInScience #GirlsInScience #InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience #STEM #EmpowerWomen

New Paper Alert! 👀

A study published by Salmon Watersheds Lab members in collaboration with, @umontana Flathead Lake Biological Station and Taku River Tlingit First Nation examines the rapid transformation of floodplain ecosystems driven by glacier retreat.

Check out the link in our bio to read the full paper!

#glacier #taku #salmon #transformation #floodsplain #ecosystems

✨Lab work highlight ✨

Cumulative effects are the combined impacts of many different human activities on the lands and waters that salmon call home. Also known as “death by a thousand cuts,” there is an urgent need to improve the science and governance of cumulative effects in BC.

The Watershed Futures Initiative (WFI) is a collaborative initiative that undertakes and coordinates research on cumulative effects in British Columbia’s salmon-bearing watersheds, and initiates dialogue among researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers.

The WFI team includes our fearless fish leader Dr. Jonathan Moore (project lead), Dr. Tara Martin (project co-lead, UBC), Dr. Nigel Sainsbury (project director), Trish Hall (project coordinator, SFU), a diverse expert advisory team, and other personnel. Several graduate students (including a few from our lab!) are also doing some great work within WFI as well 🥰🐟

The goals of WFI are community connection, science & understanding, and informing management.

If you want to follow the work of WFI, check out their Instagram channel @watershedfuturesinitiative!

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#cumulativeeffects #fisheries #research #sciencecommunication #collaborative #salmon #watersheds

Dr. Moore and Master's student Christian Carson recently joined the Your Forest podcast to explore how forestry practices impact salmon habitats, the crucial role of riparian zones, and strategies for balancing economic growth with ecological sustainability. 🎧 Tune in now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher! Thank you, @yourforestpodcast, for having us!

#Forestry #SalmonConservation #SustainableDevelopment #Ecology #Riparianzones

In early December, our lab had the honour of hosting a 2 day workshop focused on the Taku Salmon Resilience Initiative which aims to advance the ecological and cultural resilience of the watershed, particularly in light of climate change and other pressures. There were over 20 participants, including collaborators and representatives from Taku River Tlingit (TRT), University of Washington (@uofwa), SFU (@simonfraseru), and Round River (@round.river). This year was our third year of coming together for this workshop, and it has been exciting and meaningful to continue to strengthen connections and collaborations in this transboundary watershed.

These are some photos taken from the workshop, which included a game of stick gambling!

Looking forward to more things like this in the new year! ☺️🎊🐟🏔️

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#workshop #taku #salmon #resilience #salmonconservation

Happy holidays from our lab to you! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and joyous fishy year ahead 🎊🫶

Photo taken from a recent excursion some of our lab folks went on to view some spawning fish!

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#fishmas #fisholidays

The SWL team was honoured to get a chance to participate in the Salmon Recovery and Resilience meeting last week. Jon got a chance to share some of our research and their implications in an opening keynote. As a part of @watershedfuturesinitiative, we also organized a break out session to discuss the challenging issue of cumulative effects. While cumulative harms come from a variety of activities occurring over time and space, this conversation helped illuminate some promising paths forward 💫🐟

Huge thanks to #PSF and #FNFC for organizing this amazing gathering of practitioners, experts, and leaders!

Looking for a post-doc!

SWL is seeking to hire a post-doc for a project identifying genomic markers for ecotype and run-timing of sockeye salmon in the North and Central Coast of BC.

Applicants will be reviewed starting December 20 2024, but we will consider applicants on a rolling basis. Head over to our website or the link in our bio to learn more 💫🐟

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#salmonwatershedsscience #environmentaljobs #researchjobs #salmon #jobposting

Good news alert!🚨🗣️

“Salmon are on the frontlines of climate change”

Located in the upper Pitt River, the Red Slough recently became the site of one of the largest ✨completed✨ salmon restoration projects in Western Canada. Led by Katzie First Nation and BC Parks, Global News recently ran a segment about this, with Jon sharing a few words about the significance of this project.

Check out the link in our bio to see the full story!

A big thank you to Neetu Garcha and the Global News team for having us.
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#resilientsalmon #goodnews #climatechange #restoration #salmon

A big big congratulations to Wendy Fleming, who successfully defended her Masters thesis: Linking habitat to spatial and temporal variability in individual energetic condition: towards assessing freshwater habitat quality for Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)🧬🐟

Co-advised by both Jon and Dr. Doug Braun with DFO, Wendy’s research explores important links between juvenile coho physiology and habitat, particularly around the Thompson watershed.

Whooooo go Wendy! 🎉🥰

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#coho #research #physiology #juvenile #salmon #salmonwatershedsscience

Come on out! On Dec. 3-4, a few folks from our lab will be taking part in the BC Salmon Recovery and Resilience Conference hosted by the Pacific Salmon Foundation. In particular, Jon will be delivering a talk as one of the keynote speakers, and will be joined by Emma Griggs and Marta Ulaski from our lab to organize a session - “Paths Out of a World of Cumulative Effects.”

This event will be bringing together folks in the salmon community to share knowledge, build connections, and collaborate on key salmon recovery issues. Please feel free join us if you are able to - registrations close in a week! ✨🐟

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#salmonrecovery #BCsalmonconference

Every year (for the last 3 years) the estuary field crew has created a visual masterpiece in the form of an album cover. This year, they took inspiration from Beyoncé’s iconic “Cowboy Carter” album - featuring SWL research assistant @carter.tsui as said cowboy.

Swipe through to take a walk down some SWL Hall of Famers, we’re looking forward to outdoing ourselves (if possible) next summer 🤠🐟

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#beyonce #fish #album #music #humour #salmon #fieldwork #fieldfun #britishcolumbia #slay

Aaaaaand that’s a wrap on our field season (and we have the fish edit to prove it)! Our Nicola crew wrapped up the last of the fall snorkel surveys at the end of October - marking the end of a busy but rewarding field season for the lab. A tremendous thank you to everyone who helped us out, you make it all possible! Now onto some data analysis, writing, and general pining for the field season 🥰🐟👩‍💻📉

Video by @stazook, more fieldwork highlights to come soon!

P.S. Watch with the sound on for max viewing pleasure…

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#salmonwatershedsscience #snorkelling #fish #research #pacificsalmon #climate #temperature #britishcolumbia

Today is a bittersweet day for the Salmon Watersheds Lab 🥲🐟

Our beloved lab manager Kim had her last day of work with us as she leaves to start her motherhood journey (!!)

She has been an incredible part of the team - she leads with kindness, empathy, and an excellent sense of humour in everything that she does. She is a ray of sunshine in our office, and we will miss her very dearly!

Thank you for everything Kim, we can’t wait to meet your little fry ❣️🐣

Earlier this fall, a few members of the lab went out to Honolulu, Hawaii for the national American Fisheries Society conference 🌺☀️

Emma, Julie, Spencer, Phoebe, and Mike came back a bit more tanned and a lot more inspired with the opportunity to share their work and learn more about all of the other great work happening in the fish world!
🐟🌎❣️

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#fisheries #conference #hawaii #honolulu #salmon #fish #meeting #americanfisheriessociety

We are seeking two motivated graduate students to join our team for Fall 2025 to work on exciting research projects!
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More information about the positions and research projects can be found on our website.

We could honestly watch this all day! Mesmerizing to watch salmon do their dance.

Also, as fish nerds, there is some interesting behaviour going on. What do you think is happening in this clip?

Clip taken in the Taaltsux̱éi (Tulsequah) River in the Taku Watershed by Jon Moore.

#Pacificsalmon #takuriverwatershed #climatechange #glaciallake #aquaticecology #salmonwatershedsscience

Sometimes she catches juvenile fish, sometimes she doesn’t catch juvenile fish… either way, the Tulsequah provides! ✨🐟

Britt and Jon are now back from the fieldwork, and here are a few highlights from them to wrap up their time up in the Taku watershed:

1. This is the first known recorded fish on Tulsequah Proglacial Lake - a Dolly Varden! The lake is super cold (we measured its temperature at 0.9 degrees Celsius) and it is about 220 metres deep. Finding this fish is significant, as it is a sign that this lake will be important fish habitat as the glacier continues to retreat.

2. While trying to capture juvenile salmon we accidentally caught a very beautiful adult coho on the Tulsequah River! The Tulsequah provides habitat for juvenile and adult salmon (as shown in the video!), in addition to many other awesome species like Dolly Varden, sculpin, and whitefish.

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#takuriver #takurivertlingitterritory #research #fisheries #glacier #science

FISH VIDEO ALERT 🚨🗣️

Ever wonder how cold water fish deal with high summer temperatures? This underwater footage was taken by the Nicola field crew during summer snorkel surveys in July - during which stream temperatures were between 11 and 26 degrees celsius (a huge thermal gradient!). During these periods, cold water fish like bull trout, mountain whitefish, and spring Chinook will hone in on refuges where the right temperature, flow, and food resources are, and use these spots to escape the inhospitable heat.

Bonus points if folks can ID the fish in these videos!

The Nicola field crew will be heading out this Friday for the next round of fall sampling - stay tuned for more fishy videos ✨fall edition✨ 🍂

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#salmon #research #salmonresearch #water #snorkel #snorkelsurveys #conservation #nicola #fieldwork

Reporting to you live from the field! 🗣️🐟🤓

PhD student Britt Milner gives us a sneak peek into her and Jon’s work in the Taku watershed, which spans the BC-Alaska border. In this video, she shows us the Tulsequah glacier which is located within the Taku. She shows us how the glacier is rapidly changing - opening up new habitat for salmon.

Britt’s work investigates the timing and use of emerging habitats by salmon in complex glacial watersheds. Her work builds on previous research by other SWL folks (such as our fantastic spatial analyst, Kara Pitman) and their collaborators.

🔎📚 A resource to learn more about this topic is a paper (led by Kara!)“Glacier retreat creating new Pacific salmon habitat in western North America” (2021).
Find it here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26897-2

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#salmon #glaciers #taku #tulsequah #glaciermelt #habitat #britishcolumbia #alaska #salmonscience #fieldwork

Jon recently had the opportunity to join a team of scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks on a pack raft expedition in the western Arctic to study the impacts of climate change on northern rivers.

As the Arctic warms due to climate change, permafrost is melting, and sea ice is retreating, causing rapid changes in these fragile watersheds. Led by Dr. Ken Tape, the team discovered that beavers are moving north, dramatically reshaping aquatic ecosystems.

Over a multi-day float trip, they collected data to understand these shifts and even encountered a few Arctic salmon, also moving north as the climate changes.

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#ClimateChange #ArcticScience #ArcticEcosystems #BeaverBehavior #SalmonMigration #AquaticEcology #FieldResearch #Permafrost #salmonwatersheds

Earlier this month, SWL lab folks finished up a successful round of summer snorkel surveys in the Nicola watershed. This work was for PhD student Ben Zdasiuk’s project, which looks at the impact of cumulative effects on fish communities in this watershed. In particular, this work focuses on rising stream temperatures as a key factor.

Our lab has maintained an ongoing temperature monitoring program in this system since 2017, with ongoing guidance from the Nicola Research Collaborative and various collaborators throughout the watershed. Snorkel surveys allow us to expand on this data to investigate relationships between fish habitat occupancy and stream temperatures.

Pictured here are some snapshots from fieldwork - featuring fishy friends, two legged friends, and some four legged friends too! A big, big thank you to everyone who has helped out with this work. ❣️🐟

Stay tuned for some cool underwater snorkel footage!

Pictures taken by Ben Zdasiuk, Kei Poon, Nicole Yang, and Christian Carson.

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#salmonwatershedslab #salmon #conservation #environment #nicola #snorkel #snorkelsurvey #juvenilesalmon #fieldwork #bcsalmon #fishing #salmonresearch #fisheriesscience #fisheriesmanagement #cumulativeeffects

Some videos taken by Salmon Watersheds Lab members back in June. These videos show juvenile coho in streams in and around Squamish, Bella Coola, and Fair Harbour 🥹❣️🐟🐣

Why coho? Some features that set coho fry apart are…
- Sickle-shaped anal fins
- White/black leading edges on anal fins
- Thin, even parr marks across lateral line

Are there any other ways you identify coho and other juvenile salmonids? Give us your #salmonfacts!

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#salmonwatershedslab #salmon #conservation #environment #coho #juvenilesalmon #fieldwork #bcsalmon #fishing #salmonresearch #fisheriesscience #fisheriesmanagement

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News and Updates

May 8, 2025 - New Papers Alert! Our team has recently published papers in Ecology and Marine and Coastal Fisheries. Click the journal titles to check them out or find them under our "Publications" page!

March 7, 2025 - Scroll up and check out Dr. Moore on the Mountain Futures YouTube channel. Dr. Scott Hotaling and Dr. Moore chat about glacier recession and how this may impact salmon in the future.

March 4, 2025 - New paper alert! PhD Candidate Britt Milner has been published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences! Read the paper here!

Jan 31, 2025 - We now have a Bluesky account! Follow us @salmonscience.bsky.social!

Jan 24, 2025 - New Paper Alert! Our latest research has been published in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms! Read the paper here.

Dec 18, 2024 - Dr. Jonathan Moore and Master's student Christian Carson were featured on the podcast Your Forest discussing how salmon shape ecosystems and how forestry impacts salmon. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Nov 26, 2024 - We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow or equivalent in applied genomics to join our lab in 2025. Click here for more information!

Nov 6, 2024 - Wendy Fleming successfully defended her Master's thesis. Amazing work, Wendy!

Oct 8, 2024 - We are recruiting up to two new graduate students to join our lab in 2025! Click here for more information.

Oct 7, 2024 - Welcome to our new Lab Manager, Amaris Hackney!

Sept 14, 2024 - Check out our latest video on YouTube about Jon’s recent trip to the Arctic with scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks who are studying beaver expansion into the Arctic region. Watch it here.

August 2nd, 2024 - Curious about how salmon navigate the changing world? Recently, Dr. Jonathan Moore spoke with the Wild Salmon Center to discuss the adaptations and challenges salmon face today. Click here to read what he had to say: https://wildsalmoncenter.org/2024/07/16/salmon-futures-a-conversation-with-dr-jonathan-moore/

July 9, 2024 - We are seeking our next Lab Manager! Do you or someone you know have great organizational skills, an interest in project management, and want to be part of an awesome team? Check out the posting here.

June 14, 2024 - Congratulations to Jonathan Moore and Kara Pitman for their contribution to the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of The Osprey: The International Journal of Salmon and Steelhead Conservation. Their article on page 10 discusses the intricate relationship between gold mining, glacial changes, and the future of salmon populations. Interested in reading the issue? Read or download the PDF here.

May 15, 2024 - New Paper Alert! Our latest research has been published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence. Read the paper here.

May 2, 2024 - New paper alert! Congrats to lab members Sara Cannon, Jonathan Moore, Emma Griggs and Nigel Sainsbury for their new paper Taking care of knowledge, taking care of salmon: towards Indigenous data sovereignty in an era of climate change and cumulative effects. Read the paper here.

March 7, 2024 - Jonathan Moore and Marta Ulaski gave talks at the 9th World Fisheries Congress!

Feb 14, 2024 - Kate McGivney successfully defended her Master's thesis. Congratulations Kate!

Feb 12, 2024 - Kirsten Bradford successfully defended her Master's thesis. Amazing work, Kirsten!

Feb 8, 2024 - Jonathan Moore and Phoebe Gross gave talks at the Estuary Resilience Celebration Symposium hosted by the Nature Trust of BC and Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Feb 3, 2024 - Lab members Phoebe Gross and Wendy Fleming both did an awesome job delivering short talks at the IDEAS 2024 symposium.

Jan 26, 2024 - We're on Instagram! Follow @SalmonWatershedsScience for awesome updates and stunning photos! 📸🐟

Jan 11, 2024 - Congratulations to Postdoc Mike Price for his new paper published in Global Change Biology! Read the paper here.

Dec 15, 2023 - The cat is out of the bag! We are very excited to share the news of the governmental funding supporting our work for the Watershed Futures Initiative. For more information on this announcement, click here.

Nov 27, 2023 - Congratulations to Phoebe Gross, PhD candidate, for her new paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science. Read the paper here.

Nov 23, 2023 - Congratulations to Kara Pitman and Jonathan Moore on their newest paper published in Science! Their research finds that mining companies are staking claims on future salmon habitats as glaciers retreat. Learn more about this important work here.

Oct 17, 2023 - Carmen Gemmell successfully defended her Master's thesis. Nice work, Carmen!

Sept 11, 2023 - Welcome to our new Fieldwork Coordinator, Kei Poon!

Sept 5, 2023 - Julian Gan successfully defended his Master's thesis. Congratulations Julian!

August 23, 2023 - Sara Tremblay-Boyer successfully defended her Master's thesis. Congratulations Sara!

August 18, 2023 - Brittany Milner successfully defended her Master's thesis. Congratulations Britt! Brittany will continue working with the lab as a Ph.D. student.

August 13, 2023 - After being interviewed on CBC's What on Earth, our Estuary Resilience project was also featured on CBC News! Congrats to Phoebe and all the other wonderful lab members who supported this project!

Ecology & Conservation of Aquatic Systems

Jonathan Moore and Team

About the lab

Our Mission

To understand the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems, from headwaters to estuaries, and inform their conservation and management, with a primary focus on salmon systems.

New Paper Alert!

Follow us on Instagram

Ecology & Conservation of Aquatic Systems

Jonathan Moore and Team

About the lab

Our Mission

To understand the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems, from headwaters to estuaries, and inform their conservation and management, with a primary focus on salmon systems.

New Paper Alert!

​

Follow us on Instagram