Michael J. Parsley

Email: michael_parsley@usgs.gov

M.S. 1984. Fisheries Biology, University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. B.S. 1982. Fish and Wildlife Biology, Iowa State University.

Current position: Research Fishery Biologist/Project Leader for Sturgeon Studies.

Mr. Parsley currently leads a research team that conducts field and laboratory studies designed to improve our understanding of the biology, ecology, and early life history of sturgeon. The results from these studies provide insight on how sturgeon populations are affected by human activities.

Mike began his fisheries career in the Midwest. While pursuing a degree in Fish and Wildlife Biology at Iowa State University, he worked several summers as a Biological Aide for the Iowa Conservation Commission and as a research assistant in the Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. This field and laboratory experience proved valuable when he entered graduate school and began investigating the selectivity of commercial fishing gear for yellow perch on Green Bay of Lake Michigan. During a short stint as a Research Associate for the Wisconsin Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit, he studied walleye habitat use in rivers by scuba diving.

He began working as a Research Fishery Biologist for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service in 1984 at the Columbia River Research Laboratory. Here he applied his experience in sampling methods and gear efficiency on a large project investigating predation on juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River. In 1987 he joined a team that had begun to study the influence of hydroelectric development and dam operations on white sturgeon populations. He continues this work today.

Mike also has an interest in the collection, analysis, and representation of spatial data for aquatic systems. In 1988 he began using GIS to inventory aquatic habitats. His team uses a variety of remote sensing technologies including radio and acoustic telemetry, satellite and airborne imagery, sidescan sonar, acoustic Doppler current profilers, and GPS to acquire spatial data for analysis and presentation via geographic information systems.

Representative Publications:

Dauble, D.D., T. P. Hanrahan, D. R. Geist, and M. J. Parsley. in press. Impacts of the Columbia River Hydroelectric system on mainstem habitats of fall chinook salmon. North American Journal of Fisheries Management.

Parsley, M.J., P.J. Anders, A.I. Miller, L. G. Beckman, and G.T. McCabe, Jr. 2002. Recovery of white sturgeon populations through natural production: Understanding the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on spawning and subsequent recruitment. Pages 55-66 in W. Van Winkle, P. J. Anders, D. H. Secor, and D. A. Dixon, editors. Biology, management, and protection on North American sturgeon. American Fisheries Society, Symposium 28, Bethesda, Maryland.

Parsley, M.J. and K. M. Kappenman. 2000. White sturgeon spawning areas in the lower Snake River. Northwest Science. 74:192-201.

Parsley, M. J. and L.G. Beckman. 1994. White sturgeon spawning and rearing habitat in the lower Columbia River. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 14:812-827.

Parsley, M. J. 1992. Use of a raster-structured GIS in fisheries research activities on the Columbia River. Pages 74-81. Proceedings of the Third National U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Information Systems Workshop. Onalaska, Wisconsin.

Parsley, M.J., D.E. Palmer, and R.W. Burkhardt. 1989. Variation in capture efficiency of a beach seine for small fishes. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 9:239-244.

Mailing Address:

U.S. Geological Survey
Western Fisheries Research Center
Columbia River Research Laboratory
5501-A Cook-Underwood Road
Cook, Washington 98606-9717

Phone: 509-538-2299 x247
Fax: 509-538-2843