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Western Fisheries Research Center

Research at the WFRC focuses on the environmental factors responsible for the creation, maintenance, and regulation of fish populations including their interactions in aquatic communities and ecosystems. Within these pages you will find research information on Pacific salmon; western trout, charr, and resident riverine fishes; desert and inland fishes; aquatic ecosystems and their resources. 

News

Institutional Biosafety Committee Meeting - April 22, 2024

Institutional Biosafety Committee Meeting - April 22, 2024

Columbia River Research Lab/Klamath Falls Field Station Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Meeting on April 11, 2024

Columbia River Research Lab/Klamath Falls Field Station Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Meeting on April 11, 2024

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) - April 18, 2024

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) - April 18, 2024

Publications

Adult green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) movements in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, California, December 2020–January 2023

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers American River Watershed Common Features project (ACRF) seeks to reduce flood risk for the City of Sacramento, California, and surrounding areas. The project includes levee-remediation measures to address seepage, stability, erosion, and height concerns as well as the widening of the Sacramento Weir and Bypass. The project reach is in the lower extent of the Sacram
Authors
Amy C. Hansen, Summer M. Burdick, Ryan P. Johnson, Robert D. Chase, Michael J. Thomas

Differences in life history patterns of American shad, Alosa sapidissima, populations between ancestral, Atlantic coast, and non-native, Pacific coast rivers of North America

Organisms naturalized outside their native range can reveal new life history patterns in new environments. Here, we compare life history patterns of American shad, Alosa sapidissima, from five rivers along the U.S. Pacific coast (introduced range) with contemporary data from the Atlantic coast source populations. The Pacific coast fish grew slower, matured at a younger age, and were less often ite
Authors
Thomas P. Quinn, Lisa Wetzel, Daniel J. Hasselman, Kimberly Larsen

Shift in piscivory by salmonids following invasion of a minnow in an oligotrophic reservoir

Predation can play an important role in structuring ecological communities, and predator–prey dynamics can be altered following the introduction of new species. An unauthorized introduction of redside shiner (Richardsonius balteatus) into reservoirs in the Upper Skagit River, Washington, USA created concern that a consequent shift in predator–prey dynamics in the reservoirs could reduce recruitmen
Authors
Rachelle Carina Johnson, Marshal Hoy, Karl D. Stenberg, Jonathan H Mclean, Benjamin Lorenz Jensen, Tessa Julianne Code, Carl Ostberg, David Beauchamp

Science

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6PPD-Quinone

6PPD-Q is a compound used to make tires more durable and is also linked to toxicity for Coho Salmon and other aquatic species.
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Development and Refinement of Methods for Early Detection of European Green Crab

European green crabs are one of the most widespread marine invasive species on the planet. Where they are abundant, green crabs compete with other crabs and disturb sediment which can lead to loss of eelgrass and associated habitat essential for commercial, cultural, and ecologically important fish and invertebrate species. Green crab also are a major predator of clams, mussels, and oysters.
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Development and Refinement of Methods for Early Detection of European Green Crab

European green crabs are one of the most widespread marine invasive species on the planet. Where they are abundant, green crabs compete with other crabs and disturb sediment which can lead to loss of eelgrass and associated habitat essential for commercial, cultural, and ecologically important fish and invertebrate species. Green crab also are a major predator of clams, mussels, and oysters.
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WFRC Strategic Plan for Science 2023-2027

This strategic plan establishes a template for our science portfolio for the next five years.
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WFRC Strategic Plan for Science 2023-2027

This strategic plan establishes a template for our science portfolio for the next five years.
Learn More