Salmon and their broader family intrigue me as some of nature’s great survivors— their high fecundity, adaptable physiology, and diverse life histories make them uniquely suited to run the gauntlet in challenging stream, estuarine, and marine environments. Growing up in Northern California, this adaptable nature of salmonids was demonstrated to me, as small coastal streams that were nearly dry most of the year would swell with winter rains, bringing home occasional runs of spawning coho and steelhead. Inspired by the work done to steward salmon and other riverine species, I spent my undergraduate and MSc years conducting research on efficacy of recovery programs, salmonid tolerance of low pH and high aluminum conditions, and movement ecology of esocids in altered riverscapes.

 

Still, contemporary population declines, seismic changes to salmon habitats, and the omnipresent threats of climate change reinforce that we need a greater understanding of how salmon respond to multiple environmental stressors (often termed ‘cumulative effects’), especially at their most vulnerable life stages. My doctoral research with the Salmon Watersheds Lab aims to characterize a safe operating space for forest conditions and juvenile salmon in the Thompson-Okanogan region of BC. It is already apparent that interior BC stream conditions are changing in conjunction with changes in forest biomass from timber harvest, disease outbreak (beetle-kill), wildfire, and warmer annual mean temperatures. My work will aim to understand how juvenile salmonids and other stream fishes may be suited or threatened by current and future changes in stream thermal conditions and forest biomass changes. If this subject is of interest, feel free to reach out and watch this space.

 

keywords/topics: cumulative effects, safe operating spaces, thermal performance, forest-watershed relationships, structural equation models