State of Science Paper in ESPL lays out an agenda and framework for using mechanistic ecohydraulic models to inform salmonid life cycle models across at a population scale.

In this ambitious State of the Science article we lay out a pragmatic method for realizing the vision Fausch et al. (2002) spelt out over 15 years ago. Many years of geomorphology and ecohydraulic research at the reach-scale has led to better mechanistic understanding of the drivers of fish habitat. However, little of this research has been directly tied across entire riverscapes to assess the significance of fish habitat on actual fish populations. We lay out a framework, using the wealth of data from Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program (CHaMP) to connect the dots and upscale this understanding across entire drainage networks.  In McHugh et al. (2017) we present a case study of how this is actually done. In Wheaton et al. (2017), we illustrate and describe conceptually how to leverage various advances that have been made in isolation in the fields of remote sensing, ecohydraulics, network modelling and life cycle modelling to take things a step further and answer some fundamental questions about fish populations of major societal and management relevance.

1. 2017. Wheaton J, Bouwes N, McHugh P, Saunders WC, Bangen SG, Bailey PE, Nahorniak M, Wall CE and Jordan C. Upscaling Site-Scale Ecohydraulic Models to Inform Salmonid Population-Level Life Cycle Modelling and Restoration Actions – Lessons from the Columbia River Basin. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. DOI: 10.1002/esp.4137

References:

• Fausch, KD, Torgersen, CE, Baxter, CV and Li, HW, 2002. Landscapes to riverscapes: Bridging the gap between research and conservation of stream fishes. Bioscience, 52(6): 483-498. DOI: 10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0483:ltrbtg]2.0.co;2.
• 2017. McHugh P, Saunders C, Bouwes N, Wall E, Bangen S, Wheaton J, Nahorniak M, Ruzycki J, Tattam I and Jordan C.  Linking models across scales  to assess the viability and restoration potential of a threatened population of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Middle Fork John Day River, Oregon, USA. Ecological Modelling, 355: pp 24-38.  DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.03.022.

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Originally posted May 17, 2017, 5:35 PM by Joe Wheat