Weekly Highlights
February 3-10, 2012
USGS Scientist Presents Seminars on Bacterial Diseases in the United Kingdom and Norway:
On January 30, USGS microbiologist Maureen Purcell presented a seminar entitled 'Characterization of the Adaptive Potential of Chinook Salmon to Resist Bacterial Kidney Disease’ at the Center for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences in Weymouth, UK; on February 2, this same seminar was also presented at NOFIMA Marin in Ǻs, Norway. Purcell met with various scientists at both agencies and discussed common research interests. During this visit, on February 3, Purcell also served as an external examiner for a Ph.D. defense at the Norwegian Life Sciences University (Ǻs, Norway). For more information, contact Maureen Purcell, Seattle, WA mpurcell@usgs.gov
USGS Scientist Speaks at a Meeting of the Washington Hydrological Society:
On February 8, USGS scientist Jeff Duda presented early progress on the decommissioning of the Elwha River dams as a guest speaker at the Washington Hydrological Society monthly seminary series in Seattle, WA. Duda highlighted activities during the first 3 months of the dam decommissioning and the science that the USGS is conducting in support of the project. For more information, contact Jeff Duda, Seattle, WA jduda@usgs.gov
USGS Guides Development of Fish Monitoring Network in the Mekong River, Southeast Asia:
USGS scientists participated in a workshop, February 9- 10, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to initiate a standardized fisheries monitoring network in the lower Mekong River Basin of Southeast Asia. The Mekong River Basin supports the largest freshwater fishery in the world, including a large amount of subsistence fishing. Discussions included the development of a Mekong Fish Monitoring Network to identify and implement consistent methods among studies and countries, compiling new and existing data on fish harvest, presence and abundance, and storing data in a web-accessible form. The goal of the workshop was to initiate a standardized means to collect, report, and share data on fisheries in the lower Mekong River Basin that can be used in studies addressing potential impacts to fisheries and other food resources from natural and human-caused perturbations. For more information, contact John Beeman, Cook, WA jbeeman@usgs.gov
Upcoming Media Item
Press Inquiries/Media
New Publications
Discovery and Characterization of Secretory IgD in Rainbow Trout: Secretory IgD is Produced through a Novel Splacing Mechanism:Unique Antibody Utilized by Salmonid Fish: In the February issue of The Journal of Immunology , USGS researchers in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth report their discovery of a unique, secreted antibody that is utilized by salmonid fish. Previous work (www.pnas.org/content/102/19/6919) led to the characterization of the genomic region encoding antibody genes in salmonids. In this current study, researchers have developed biochemical tools for addressing the participation of one of these genes for its role in immunity. The research provides relevant information for humoral immune responses to microbial pathogens impacting salmonid fish and thus has appliations for vaccine design. For more information, visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22205025 or Contact: John Hansen, Seattle, WA jhansen@usgs.gov
Telemetry Study Describes Marine Habitat Use by Threatened Bull Trout:
Bull trout from northwest Washington streams are unique compared to interior populations, as they make a marine migration and reside in saltwater habitats for several months each year. In Marine and Coastal Fisheries, USGS fishery biologists and co-authors describe habitat use and migration patterns for this threatened speices within Skagit Bay, WA. Tagged bull trout made rapid migrations from the Skagit River into the bay and tended to be found in the same general area during repeated sampling, utilizing shoreline habitats less than 4.0 m in depth and occupying areas ranging from 0.01-5.7 km in length. Descriptions include shoreline classes, substrate, and vegetation types used by bull trout, and will aid managers in identifying specific nearshore areas that may require further protection to sustain the unique anadromous life history. For more information, visit http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/umcf20/3/1 or Contact: Mike Hayes, Seattle, WA mhayes@usgs.gov
