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Tuesday  March 6, 2018. 12:00 PM. Webinar: Pacific salmon in hot water: past, present and future of thermal diversity in rivers. Aimee Fullerton, NOAA. More information here.

Abstract: Water temperature is an increasing concern in Pacific Northwest rivers, where climate change is expected to negatively influence coldwater species. Novel methods for monitoring and modeling thermal regimes across river networks have made it possible to envision thermal diversity over space and time. However, understanding effects of thermal patterns on stream biota remains challenging. An important first step towards protecting and restoring functional thermal habitats is to quantify key aspects of a thermal regime that are important during each life stage. For example, adult Pacific salmon may suffer increased mortality and reduced fecundity if exposed to high temperatures during their migration to spawning grounds in the summer and fall. Watershed managers can characterize availability of cold-water refuges during this critical period and predict how conditions may change in the future. Thermal habitat is also important in winter when eggs are incubating in the gravel. Changes in winter thermal regimes, such as increases in minima and variability, may alter hatch timing and growth opportunity during early life stages that could have cascading consequences for later life stages. In this presentation, I provide an overview of these concepts and highlight new quantitative tools for assessing and managing thermal landscapes.

About the Speaker: Aimee joined NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in 2002. She received her Ph.D. in Landscape Ecology from the University of Washington, her M.S. in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Notre Dame, and her B.S. in Biology from the Ohio State University. Her research interests include thermal diversity in streams and the effect of climate change on Pacific salmon and aquatic systems; the spatial structure of aquatic populations, especially those living in stream networks; the relationship between spatiotemporal scale and ecological patterns and processes; the influence of nonindigenous species on native aquatic fauna; and ways that science can contribute to improved decision-making.