Research across the Pacific: PI-AK scientists meet in Juneau

a man shows a large rock to three women near a forested stream

On the banks of Montana Creek in Juneau, Alaska, a group clad in colorful rain gear watches expectantly as AK CASC graduate student Kevin Fitzgerald empties a throng of juvenile salmon from a small wire trap. His audience has traveled across the Pacific from Hawai`i to observe stream research in Alaskan watersheds and compare methodologies…

Influence of stream flow patterns on juvenile salmon foraging and growth in southeast Alaska

baby salmon

Changing streamflow patterns in Southeast Alaska alter nutrient cycling, sediment transport, and species composition. How this will impact salmon growth is unclear. Understanding the influence of flow regimes and other environmental factors on fish population dynamics has relevance for the conservation and management of fish populations, as well as the ecosystem as a whole.

Understanding nutrient transport through streamflow and fish populations

armored catfish

The overall goal of this project is to develop a multidisciplinary team to evaluate the effect of changing river flow on R2R and I2O watersheds. We will evaluate the effects of annual variability in flow conditions on the growth and survival of invasive armored suckermouth catfish in Hawaiian streams, and compare/contrast findings to a complementary study linking hydrology to freshwater salmon growth in Southeast Alaska.