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SALMON WATERSHEDS LAB
Ecology & Conservation of Aquatic Systems
Jonathan Moore and Team
credit: Fernando Lessa
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
The mining industry is competing with salmon for rivers created by disappearing glaciers
A new study finds that mining companies are staking claims on future salmon habitats as glaciers retreat. The rivers born of disappearing glaciers are already arenas of competition between salmon and the mining industry. The study, published in Science, was led by our own Dr. Jonathan Moore and Dr. Kara Pitman, in collaboration with researchers from Gitanyow First Nation Hereditary Chiefs, the University of Montana Flathead Lake Biological Station, and Taku River Tlingit First Nation.
The research, which builds on previous work led by Kara Pitman, found that of the 114 sub-watersheds in the transboundary region with future salmon habitat, 25 had more than 50 percent of future salmon habitat near a mining claim. In addition, over half of Canada's future salmon habitats have medium or high mineral potential, an indicator of future potential mining pressure. The paper maps out these emerging land use conflicts and identifies policy blind spots and key opportunities for the stewardship of these nascent habitats.
A Peek Into Our Work: Science News
Follow us on Instagram to see what we are up to!
News and Updates
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!
August 8, 2023 - Welcome to our new Lab Manager, Kim St-Pierre!
July 30, 2023 - Big congrats to our students Phoebe and Ben, and undergraduate assistant Veronika for their feature on CBC's What on Earth radio show, sharing our Estuary Resilience project with the public.
June 27, 2023 - We're hiring! The Moore Lab is looking to hire a new Spatial Analyst/Data Scientist to join our team. Check out the job ad for more information.
May 9, 2023 - Check out our lab members Sam Wilson, Julian Gan and Jon being interviewed about the recent findings on climate change's impact on salmon migrations (video link, 25 minutes in).
May 3, 2023 - Congrats to our Postdoc Sam Wilson on recent publications of her PhD work! First, Nature, Ecology and Evolution published her research compiling the largest dataset in the world on juvenile salmon migration timing. Also, her work recently published in Ecology shows how hierarchical modelling can be used to estimate changes in phenology using a purpose-built R package. Read more here.
Apr 18, 2023 - Congratulations to lab alumni Will Atlas and his co-authors for their recent publication in Fish and Fisheries: "Trends in Chinook salmon spawner abundance and total run size highlight linkages between life history, geography and decline"
Apr 17, 2023 - 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 job advertisement here. Application review will begin on May 19th.
Apr 4, 2023 - Congratulations to our fearless leader Jon and one of our wonderful Postdocs Kara Pitman for their work being featured in Smithsonian Magazine!
Mar 17, 2023 - Check out the work of our recent master's graduate, Dylan Cunningham, whose work shows how logging activity can increase water temperature in salmon habitats. His work has also been featured in the Narwhal and on CBC.
Mar 3, 2023 - Huge congratulations to our fearless leader Jon Moore who received the 2023 Distinguished Academic Award at the career level from the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia. Learn more about Jon and our lab in this video.
Feb 24, 2023 - Check out the latest CBC episode of The Nature of Things, "True Survivors", featuring the work of our lab!
Feb 23, 2023 - We are seeking our next Field Coordinator! To learn more about this 1-year position, see the job advertisement here. Application review will begin on March 10th.
Feb 2, 2023 - Huge welcome to our two new graduate students, Benjamin Zdasiuk and Leah Davis! Stay tuned to learn more about their exciting projects to come.
Jan 28, 2023 - Check out some of our amazing lab members in a recent CBC Radio-Canada short-doc on the 2022 Adams River sockeye salmon run.
Nov 1, 2022 - Huge welcome to our new postdoc Michael Price! We are glad to have him joining the team.
Oct 26, 2022 - We are seeking a Research Technician for a short-term contract this Spring to support a project studying cumulative effects in salmon-bearing watersheds. See the full job description here. Applications close November 18.
Oct 24, 2022 - We are seeking two graduate students to join our team in 2023! See more information, and how to apply, here. Application review will begin on November 15, 2022.