My research explores a century of change in abundance, diversity, and productivity of salmon populations, and how these populations and their freshwater habitats will respond to future environmental change.
Prince Rupert Archives
Historical Ecology
Fish scales are my window into the past. I use a unique collection of salmon scales and biological data extracted from fish caught in commercial fisheries and monitoring programs beginning in 1913, and compare the information concealed within these scales with fish from the modern era.
Prince Rupert Archives
Historical Ecology
Fish scales are my window into the past. I use a unique collection of salmon scales and biological data extracted from fish caught in commercial fisheries and monitoring programs beginning in 1913, and compare the information concealed within these scales with fish from the modern era.
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Advances in molecular genetic tools enable the identification of individual populations from ancient scales, which allows us to answer a suite of interesting ecological questions relevant to salmon conservation. |
In collaboration with colleagues, our recent research demonstrated how freshwater habitats influence a diversity of responses in salmon populations to a century of change in climate and competition - view our publication in Global Change Biology.
Salmon's Future
This program focuses on identifying emerging and future salmon habitats in northern watersheds as climate conditions change, with the goal of proactively protecting climate refuges that support long-term population resilience.
By examining how salmon populations have responded to past climate and land-use change, and by applying tools such as environmental DNA (eDNA) from water and streambed sediments, my work seeks to detect newly suitable habitats before they are degraded. Our recent paper in Ecological Applications demonstrated how eDNA surveys can improve early detection of emerging salmon habitats, helping managers anticipate ecological change before critical habitats are degraded. Linking ecological change to conservation action, this research aims to inform forward-looking habitat protection strategies that help ensure wild salmon persistence in a warming world.
This program focuses on identifying emerging and future salmon habitats in northern watersheds as climate conditions change, with the goal of proactively protecting climate refuges that support long-term population resilience.
By examining how salmon populations have responded to past climate and land-use change, and by applying tools such as environmental DNA (eDNA) from water and streambed sediments, my work seeks to detect newly suitable habitats before they are degraded. Our recent paper in Ecological Applications demonstrated how eDNA surveys can improve early detection of emerging salmon habitats, helping managers anticipate ecological change before critical habitats are degraded. Linking ecological change to conservation action, this research aims to inform forward-looking habitat protection strategies that help ensure wild salmon persistence in a warming world.
Conservation Policy
I also work at the interface of science and conservation policy, helping translate ecological research into strategies that protect biodiversity and salmon ecosystems.
To mark the 20th anniversary of Canada's Wild Salmon Policy, Brendan Connors and I initiated a Special Collection in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences examining the Policy's successes, shortcomings and future directions. My contribution documented a widespread decline in salmon monitoring across western Canada, highlighting the risks of making decisions without reliable population-level data. The work was featured in an accompanying Letter in Science. We then brought together contributors in a workshop to synthesize findings and develop actionable recommendations for strengthening salmon conservation and governance.
More recently, colleagues and I examined why conservation policies often fail to achieve their intended outcomes despite ambitious objectives. Using Pacific salmon in Canada as a case study, our research - published in Conservation Letters - identified declining monitoring capacity, compromised scientific integrity, and delayed conservation action as key barriers to effective implementation, with broader lessons for biodiversity conservation worldwide.
I also work at the interface of science and conservation policy, helping translate ecological research into strategies that protect biodiversity and salmon ecosystems.
To mark the 20th anniversary of Canada's Wild Salmon Policy, Brendan Connors and I initiated a Special Collection in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences examining the Policy's successes, shortcomings and future directions. My contribution documented a widespread decline in salmon monitoring across western Canada, highlighting the risks of making decisions without reliable population-level data. The work was featured in an accompanying Letter in Science. We then brought together contributors in a workshop to synthesize findings and develop actionable recommendations for strengthening salmon conservation and governance.
More recently, colleagues and I examined why conservation policies often fail to achieve their intended outcomes despite ambitious objectives. Using Pacific salmon in Canada as a case study, our research - published in Conservation Letters - identified declining monitoring capacity, compromised scientific integrity, and delayed conservation action as key barriers to effective implementation, with broader lessons for biodiversity conservation worldwide.