Current Research

My current work is focused on examining juvenile coho food resources during the winter. The winter can be a time when food resources are scarce or the environment is harsh. In the Pacific Northwest winters are typically wet with frequent floods. These floods can displace juvenile fish as well as affect their food resources by displacing invertebrates or making it difficult for fish to capture because of high turbidity or water velocities.
What I have found however is that floods of lower magnitude are beneficial to fish. They can dislodge invertebrates and make them more susceptible to fish. The dislodged inveretebrates can enter the water column where these fish generally feed.