Geology topics

James H. Petersen

Publications and source records attributed to James H. Petersen.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2006

Science for maintaining riverine ecosystems: Actions for the USGS identified in the workshop "Analysis of Flow and Habitat for Aquatic Communities"

Federal and state agencies need improved scientific analysis to support riverine ecosystem management. The ability of the USGS to integrate geologic, hydrologic, chemical, geographic, and biological data into new tools and models provides unparalleled opportunities to translate the best riverine science into useful approaches and usable information to address issues faced by river managers. In addition to this capability to provide integrated science, the USGS has a long history of providing long-term and nationwide information about natural resources. The USGS is now in a position to advance its ability to provide the scientific support for the management of riverine ecosystems. To address this need, the USGS held a listening session in Fort Collins, Colorado in April 2006. Goals of the workshop were to: 1) learn about the key resource issues facing DOI, other Federal, and state resource management agencies; 2) discuss new approaches and information needs for addressing these issues; and 3) outline a strategy for the USGS role in supporting riverine ecosystem management. Workshop discussions focused on key components of a USGS strategy: Communications, Synthesis, and Research. The workshop identified 3 priority actions the USGS can initiate now to advance its capabilities to support integrated science for resource managers in partner government agencies and non-governmental organizations: 1) Synthesize the existing science of riverine ecosystem processes to produce broadly applicable conceptual models, 2) Enhance selected ongoing instream flow projects with complementary interdisciplinary studies, and 3) Design a long-term, watershed-scale research program that will substantively reinvent riverine ecosystem science. In addition, topical discussion groups on hydrology, geomorphology, aquatic habitat and populations, and socio-economic analysis and negotiation identified eleven important complementary actions required to advance the state of the science and to develop the tools for supporting decisions on riverine ecosystem management. These eleven actions lie within the continuum of Communications, Synthesis, and Research.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2005

Are all prey created equal? A review and synthesis of differential predation on prey in substandard condition

Our understanding of predator-prey interactions in fishes has been influenced largely by research assuming that the condition of the participants is normal. However, fish populations today often reside in anthropogenically altered environments and are subjected to many kinds of stressors, which may reduce their ecological performance by adversely affecting their morphology, physiology, or behaviour. One consequence is that either the predator or prey, or both, may be in a substandard condition at the time of an interaction. We reviewed the literature on predator-prey interactions in fishes where substandard prey were used as experimental groups. Although most of this research indicates that such prey are significantly more vulnerable to predation, prey condition has rarely been considered in ecological theory regarding predator-prey interactions. The causal mechanisms for increased vulnerability of substandard prey to predation include a failure to detect predators, lapses in decision-making, poor fast-start performance, inability to shoal effectively, and increased prey conspicuousness. Despite some problems associated with empirical predator-prey studies using substandard prey, their results can have theoretical and applied uses, such as in ecological modelling or justification of corrective measures to be implemented in the wild. There is a need for more corroborative field experimentation, a better understanding of the causal mechanisms behind differential predation, and increased incorporation of prey condition into the research of predator-prey modellers and theoreticians. If the concept of prey condition is considered in predator-prey interactions, our understanding of how such interactions influence the structure and dynamics of fish communities is likely to change, which should prove beneficial to aquatic ecosystems.

Journal of Fish Biology↗

USGS2005

Light-mediated predation by northern squawfish on juvenile Chinook salmon

Northern squawfish Ptychocheilus oregonensis cause significant mortality of juvenile salmon in the lower Columbia River Basin (U.S.A.). The effects of light intensity on this predator-prey interaction were examined with laboratory experiments and modelling studies. In laboratory experiments, the rate of capture of subyearling chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha by northern squawfish was inversely related to light intensity. In a large raceway, about five times more salmon were captured during 4 h periods of relative darkness (0–03 Ix) than during periods with high light intensity (160 Ix). The rate of predation could be manipulated by increasing or decreasing light intensity. A simulation model was developed for visual predators that encounter, attack, and capture juvenile salmon, whose schooling behaviour was light-sensitive. The model was fitted to laboratory results using a Monte Carlo filtering procedure. Model-predicted predation rate was especially sensitive to the visual range of predators at low light intensity and to predator search speed at high light. Modelling results also suggested that predation by northern squawfish on juvenile salmon may be highest across a narrow window of fight intensity.

Journal of Fish Biology↗

USGS2004

Assessment of smolt condition: Biological and environmental interactions -- The impact of prey and predators on juvenile salmonids

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has funded the Assessment of Smolt Condition project since 1987. During that time the project changed frequently to meet the information needs of fish managers by conducting studies throughout the Columbia River basin. Past research has examined the influence of smolt physiological development and health on migration rate; differences in development and migration rates of smolts of hatchery or wild origins; and the impacts of hatchery practices on smolt development. The Smolt Assessment Project will not continue beyond 2004, and here we report on the final study of the project in which we used bioenergetics modeling to investigate predation on juvenile salmonids by northern pikeminnow, smallmouth bass, and walleye in the lower Columbia River reservoirs.

Oregon, Washington↗

USGS2003

Importance of the predator's ecological neighborhood in modeling predation on migrating prey

Most mathematical descriptions of predator-prey interactions fail to take into account the spatio-temporal structures of the populations, which can lead to errors or misinterpretations. For example, a compact pulse of prey migrating through a field of quasi-stationary predators may not be well described by standard predator-prey models, because the predators and prey are unlikely to be well mixed; that is, the prey may be exposed to only a fraction of the predator population at a time. This underscores the importance of properly accounting for the ecological neighborhood, or effective feeding range, of predators in models. We illustrate this situation with a series of models of salmon smolts migrating through a reservoir arrayed with predators. The reservoir is divided into a number of longitudinal compartments or spatial cells, the length of each cell representing the upstream-downstream range over which predators can forage. In this series of models a 100-km-long reservoir is divided, successively into 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 cells, with respective cell lengths of 50, 20, 10, 4, 2, 1, 0.5, and 0.25 km. We used a detailed individual-based simulation model at first, but to ensure robustness of results we supplemented this with a simple analytic model. Both models showed sharp differences in the predicted mortality to a compact pulse of smolt prey moving through the reservoir, depending on the number of spatial cells in the model. In particular, models with fewer than about 10 cells vastly overpredicted the amount of mortality due to predators with activity ranges of not more than a few kilometers. These results corroborate recent theoretical and simulation studies on the importance of spatial scale and behavior in modeling predator-prey dynamics.

Oikos↗

USGS2002

Monitoring and assessment of juvenile steelhead on Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge. Quick Response Project for 2001

Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR) in south central Washington was established in 1964 to provide an important link in the chain of feeding and resting areas for waterfowl and other migratory birds using the Pacific Flyway. Wetlands on TNWR include both natural floodplain wetlands along Toppenish Creek and man-made impoundments designed to mimic natural floodplain processes. Wetland improvement projects were completed between 1995-1998 to restore wetland habitat conditions and eliminate monotypic stands of invasive reed canary grass. Habitat improvements boosted fall/winter use from 2,000 to 50,000 waterfowl, and increased overall use by many species of water birds, shorebirds, and other migratory birds. Increased use by bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and willow flycatchers has also been recorded.

Washington↗

USGS2002

Conditions for growth and survival of bull trout in Beulah Reservoir, Oregon. Annual report 2001

The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) constructed Agency Valley Dam on the North Fork of the Malheur River in 1934-35, creating Beulah Reservoir. The project is operated and maintained by the Vale Irrigation District for irrigation and downstream flood control, with no minimum pool or outflow operational criteria. Although the project is not operated for fish and wildlife values, the reservoir supports a rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss fishery and also seasonally harbors an adfluvial population of bull trout Salvelinus confluentus (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife [ODFW]; Burns Paiute Tribe). Bull trout were listed by the USFWS as a threatened species throughout the Columbia and Klamath river basins in 1998, and Oregon has listed the North Fork Malheur River population “Of Special Concern”.

Oregon↗

USGS2001

Predation by northern pikeminnow on juvenile salmonids in The Dalles Dam tailrace: field, laboratory, and habitat modeling studies (FY2000)

Predation by resident fish is known to be a substantial cause of juvenile salmonid mortality, especially in dam tailraces and outfall locations. Conditions in The Dalles Dam tailrace are unique compared to other projects on the Columbia or Snake rivers, having a complex basin with a series of downriver islands where predators are known to reside. In May-June of 1999, northern pikeminnow and smallmouth bass were sampled in the tailrace of The Dalles Dam during periods immediately following the release of PIT-tagged juvenile salmonids for survival studies. Over twice as many smallmouth bass (N = 101) were collected as northern pikeminnow (N = 40), but none of the predators had PIT tags within their gut. A laboratory study was conducted to estimate the time required for PIT tags in juvenile salmonids to be evacuated from the gut of northern pikeminnow after consuming a tagged preyfish. Evacuation rate was sensitive to temperature, with median evacuation time being 21 h at 18 oC and 30 h at 14 oC. These results suggest that field studies to estimate predator population sizes, feeding rates, or predation on specific release groups would require considerably more effort than we allocated during 1999.

Oregon, Washington↗

USGS1994

Northern squawfish Ptychochelius oregonensis, O2 consumption rate: Effects of temperature and body size

Northern squawfish, Ptychocheilus oregonensis (live weight range 0.361–1.973 kg), O 2 consumption was measured with temperature-controlled, flow-through respirometers for >24 h. Mean standard O 2 consumption rate of northern squawfish increased with acclimation temperature: 24.3, 49.1, 75.0, and 89.4 mg∙kg −0.67 ∙h −1 at 9, 15, 18, and 21 °C, respectively. Q 10 analysis showed that O 2 consumption rate temperature sensitivity was greatest at the intermediate acclimation temperatures (15–18 °C, Q 10 = 4.10), moderate at the lower acclimation temperatures (9–15 °C, Q 10 = 3.23), and lowest at the higher acclimation temperatures (18–21 °C, Q 10 = 1.80). Overall Q 10 was 2.96 (9–21 °C). Body size ( W , grams) and temperature ( T , degrees Celcius) were related to O 2 consumption ( , grams per gram per day) by W −0.285 ∙ e 0.105 T . Northern squawfish red to white muscle ratios significantly exceeded those of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss , in cross sections at 50 and 75% of standard length. High metabolic rates and red to white muscle ratios argue for comparability of northern squawfish with active predators such as sympatric rainbow trout.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗

USGS1994

Differential predation by northern squawfish Ptychocheilus oregonensis on live and dead juvenile salmonids in the Bonneville Dam tailrace (Columbia River)

Juvenile salmonids ( Oncorhynchus spp.) that have been killed or injured during dam passage may be highly vulnerable or preferred prey of predators that aggregate below dams. Salmonid loss due to predation will be overestimated using gut content analysis if some prey were dead or moribund when consumed. To examine this issue, field experiments were conducted in the Bonneville Dam tailrace (Columbia River) to compare rates of capture of live and dead juvenile salmonids by northern squawfish ( Ptychocheilus oregonensis ). Known numbers of coded-wire-tagged live and dead chinook salmon ( O . tshawytscha ) were released into the tailrace on six nights. Northern squawfish were collected after each release and their gut contents were examined for tags. When 50% of salmon released were dead, northern squawfish consumed 62% dead salmon. When 10% of salmon released were dead, comparable with dam passage mortality, 22% of the tags found in northern squawfish digestive tracts were from dead salmon. These results indicate that predator feeding behavior and prey condition are important considerations when estimating the impact of predation on a prey population.

Oregon, Washington↗

USGS1992

Functional response and capture timing in an individual-based model: predation by northern squawfish (Ptychocheilus oregonensis) on juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River

The behavior of individual northern squawfish ( Ptychocheilus oregonensis ) preying on juvenile salmonids was modeled to address questions about capture rate and the timing of prey captures (random versus contagious). Prey density, predator weight, prey weight, temperature, and diel feeding pattern were first incorporated into predation equations analogous to Holling Type 2 and Type 3 functional response models. Type 2 and Type 3 equations fit field data from the Columbia River equally well, and both models predicted predation rates on five of seven independent dates. Selecting a functional response type may be complicated by variable predation rates, analytical methods, and assumptions of the model equations. Using the Type 2 functional response, random versus contagious timing of prey capture was tested using two related models. ln the simpler model, salmon captures were assumed to be controlled by a Poisson renewal process; in the second model, several salmon captures were assumed to occur during brief "feeding bouts", modeled with a compound Poisson process. Salmon captures by individual northern squawfish were clustered through time, rather than random, based on comparison of model simulations and field data. The contagious-feeding result suggests that salmonids may be encountered as patches or schools in the river.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗