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Publications

Below is a list of available WFRC peer reviewed and published science.

Filter Total Items: 2489

Can data from disparate long-term fish monitoring programs be used to increase our understanding of regional and continental trends in large river assemblages?

Understanding trends in the diverse resources provided by large rivers will help balance tradeoffs among stakeholders and inform strategies to mitigate the effects of landscape scale stressors such as climate change and invasive species. Absent a cohesive coordinated effort to assess trends in important large river resources, a logical starting point is to assess our ability to draw inferences fro
Authors
Timothy D. Counihan, Ian R. Waite, Andrew F. Casper, David L. Ward, Jennifer S. Sauer, Elise R. Irwin, Colin G. Chapman, Brian Ickes, Craig P. Paukert, John J. Kosovich, Jennifer M. Bayer

Wind River Subbasin Restoration, Annual report of U.S. Geological Survey activities, January 2016 through December 2016

We used Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)-tagging and a series of instream PIT-tag interrogation systems (PTISs) to investigate life-histories, populations, and efficacy of habitat restoration actions for steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Wind River subbasin, WA. Our tagging focused on parr in headwaters areas of the subbasin and our instream readers provided information on movement of these
Authors
Ian G. Jezorek, Patrick J. Connolly

Morphodynamic evolution following sediment release from the world’s largest dam removal

Sediment pulses can cause widespread, complex changes to rivers and coastal regions. Quantifying landscape response to sediment-supply changes is a long-standing problem in geomorphology, but the unanticipated nature of most sediment pulses rarely allows for detailed measurement of associated landscape processes and evolution. The intentional removal of two large dams on the Elwha River (Washingto

Authors
Andrew C. Ritchie, Jonathan Warrick, Amy E. East, Christopher S. Magirl, Andrew W. Stevens, Jennifer A. Bountry, Timothy J. Randle, Christopher A. Curran, Robert C. Hilldale, Jeffrey J. Duda, Ian M. Miller, George R. Pess, Emily Eidam, Melissa M. Foley, Randall McCoy, Andrea S. Ogston

Effectiveness of common fish screen materials for protecting lamprey ammocoetes—Influence of sweeping velocities and decreasing flows

In previous tests of the effectiveness of four common fish screen materials for excluding lamprey ammocoetes, we determined that woven wire (WW) allowed substantially more entrainment than perforated plate (PP), profile bar (PB), or Intralox (IL) material. These tests were simplistic because they used small vertically-oriented screens positioned perpendicular to the flow without a bypass or a swee
Authors
Matthew G. Mesa, Theresa L. Liedtke, Lisa K. Weiland, Helena E. Christiansen

Increased sediment load during a large-scale dam removal changes nearshore subtidal communities

The coastal marine ecosystem near the Elwha River was altered by a massive sediment influx—over 10 million tonnes—during the staged three-year removal of two hydropower dams. We used time series of bathymetry, substrate grain size, remotely sensed turbidity, scuba dive surveys, and towed video observations collected before and during dam removal to assess responses of the nearshore subtidal commun
Authors
Stephen P. Rubin, Ian M. Miller, Melissa M. Foley, Helen D. Berry, Jeffrey J. Duda, Benjamin Hudson, Nancy E. Elder, Matthew M. Beirne, Jonathan Warrick, Michael L. McHenry, Andrew W. Stevens, Emily Eidam, Andrea Ogston, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Rob Pedersen

From salmon to shad: Shifting sources of marine-derived nutrients in the Columbia River Basin

Like Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), nonnative American shad (Alosa sapidissima) have the potential to convey large quantities of nutrients between the Pacific Ocean and freshwater spawning areas in the Columbia River Basin (CRB). American shad are now the most numerous anadromous fish in the CRB, yet the magnitude of the resulting nutrient flux owing to the shift from salmon to shad is unknow
Authors
Craig A. Haskell

Observations and first reports of saprolegniosis in Aanaakłiq, broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus), from the Colville River near Nuiqsut, Alaska

We report the first confirmed cases (2013–2016) of saprolegniosis caused by water mold from the genus Saprolegnia in Aanaakłiq, broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus), from the Colville River near Nuiqsut, Alaska. While this mold is known to be worldwide, these instances represent the first cases in Nuiqsut and only the second instance on a single fish on the North Slope, occurring in 1980. We describe
Authors
Todd L. Sformo, Billy Adams, John C. Seigle, Jayde A. Ferguson, Maureen K. Purcell, Raphaela Stimmelmayr, Joseph H. Welch, Leah M. Ellis, Jason C. Leppi, John C. George

Ecology of the Sand Roller (Percopsis transmontana) in a lower Snake River Reservoir, Washington

The Sand Roller (Percopsis transmontana), has not been abundant in the Snake River since it was first found in the system in the 1950s, but its population has apparently increased in recent years. As a result, we initiated a study to better understand its ecology in habitats of Lower Granite Reservoir. From November 2014 to October 2015, Sand Rollers were present along shorelines, with peak abunda
Authors
Kenneth F. Tiffan, John M. Erhardt, Tobyn N. Rhodes, Rulon J. Hemingway

Energetic requirements of green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) feeding on burrowing shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis) in estuaries: importance of temperature, reproductive investment, and residence time

Habitat use can be complex, as tradeoffs among physiology, resource abundance, and predator avoidance affect the suitability of different environments for different species. Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), an imperiled species along the west coast of North America, undertake extensive coastal migrations and occupy estuaries during the summer and early fall. Warm water and abundant prey in
Authors
Joshua M. Borin, Mary L. Moser, Adam G. Hansen, David A. Beauchamp, Stephen C. Corbett, Brett R. Dumbauld, Casey Pruitt, Jennifer L. Ruesink, Cinde Donoghue

Vaccine effects on heterogeneity in susceptibility and implications for population health management

Heterogeneity in host susceptibility is a key determinant of infectious disease dynamics but is rarely accounted for in assessment of disease control measures. Understanding how susceptibility is distributed in populations, and how control measures change this distribution, is integral to predicting the course of epidemics with and without interventions. Using multiple experimental and modeling ap
Authors
Kate E. Langwig, Andrew R. Wargo, Darbi R. Jones, Jessie R. Viss, Barbara J. Rutan, Nicholas A. Egan, Pedro Sá-Guimarães, Min Sun Kim, Gael Kurath, M. Gabriela M. Gomes, Marc Lipsitch

Acoustic tag detections of green sturgeon in the Columbia River and Coos Bay estuaries, Washington and Oregon, 2010–11

The Columbia River, in Washington and Oregon, and Coos Bay, in Oregon, are economically important shipping channels that are inhabited by several fishes protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Maintenance of shipping channels involves dredge operations to maintain sufficient in-channel depths to allow large ships to navigate the waterways safely. Fishes entrained by dredge equipment ofte
Authors
Hal C. Hansel, Jason G. Romine, Russell W. Perry

Complete sequences of 4 viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus IVb isolates and their virulence in northern pike fry

Four viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) genotype IVb isolates were sequenced, their genetic variation explored, and comparative virulence assayed with experimental infections of northern pike Esox lucius fry. In addition to the type strain MI03, the complete 11183 bp genome of the first round goby Neogobius melanostomus isolate from the St. Lawrence River, and the 2013 and 2014 isolates fro
Authors
Rodman G. Getchell, Emily R. Cornwell, Steven Bogdanowicz, Jose Andres, William N. Batts, Gael Kurath, Rachel Breyta, Joanna G. Choi, John M. Farrell, Paul R. Bowser