Education
Ph.D. Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada-Reno
Specialty
Aquatic Ecology
Research Interests
Landscape ecology of aquatic ecosystems, conservation biology of focal species, ecology of natural disturbance, biological invasions, monitoring
Personal Interests
Australian cattledogs, mycophilia, water sports
The Elwha River Restoration Project...
... has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Coordinated by the National Park Service, restoration of the Elwha River included the removal of two large dams that had blocked salmon and sediment passage for almost 100 years. The largest dam removal in U.S. history began in...
Native lampreys are culturally significant fishes for tribal communities in Oregon. As such, the USGS has begun working with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians to study changes that may be affecting habitat for native Pacific and western brook lampreys in the Umpqua River basin.
Chinook Salmon and Pacific Lamprey are culturally significant fishes to the Tribal community along the Siletz River, Oregon. The USGS has begun studying how streamflow and bedload conditions may influence mainstem spawning habitats.
PRObability of Streamflow PERmanence (PROSPER)
Rivers and streams are constantly changing. Streamflows can change throughout the year and between years due to snowmelt, precipitation, diversions, and return flows. For many streams, these fluctuations determine whether a stream has year-round flow or not. PROSPER is a project initiated to better understand what causes these fluctuations...
Fresh waters are one of the most valuable and threatened resources worldwide. They supply critical services to society and harbor many of the world’s most imperiled species. We conduct research and provide technical assistance to address challenges to fresh waters. Our research focuses on ecological processes in freshwater and terrestrial systems and the effects of those processes on landscape...
Invasive species are a growing threat to native species and ecosystem processes in fresh waters. The Introducing non-native fish into an area may have no effect, little current effect, or the potential to seriously impact the native species, possibly resulting in their extinction. We conduct research to address the causes of invasions and their impacts. We also provide technical support for...
Restoration of aquatic ecosystems involves a broad spectrum of active and passive efforts. Passive efforts rely on natural recovery of ecosystems, such as land use practices that protect riparian zones and sources of wood and sediment that drive the geomorphic and associated biological functions in streams. Active efforts involve more direct intervention, usually applied to specific locations...
Effects of changing climate on aquatic ecosystems requires understanding a complex series of interactions between terrestrial climates, their corresponding impacts on hydrological processes, and ultimately a suite of biological responses. These uncertainties stand in contrast to the urgent need for reliable information to be used in developing long-term strategies for climate adaptation to...
Many species exhibit diverse behaviors that translate into different patterns of habitat use and demography. Diversity within species can be related to a complex array of processes, including genetic and maternal influences, and external environmental drivers. Our work addresses life history diversity in salmon and trout, including Pacific salmon, steelhead and rainbow trout, cutthroat trout,...
View this webinar to learn about a new initiative to address knowledge gaps in water availability at the landscape scale.
View this webinar to learn more about threatened bull trout.
These tabular, spatial, and code data sets were created in support of a stream temperature monitoring study in the Willow-Whitehorse and Little Blitzen watersheds in southeastern Oregon from 2011-2015.
Stream segments, aquatic organism captures, stream surveys, and road-stream crossings described by these metadata accompany a 2012 electrofishing study of the distribution and abundance of aquatic organisms conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Forest.
The decision to reintroduce a species can be difficult owing to conflicting opinions and objectives, as well as uncertainty of the outcome. Structured decision making addresses these considerations by identifying realistic fundamental objectives and building achievable management alternatives, within a quantitative modeling framework. The process...
Benjamin, Joseph R.; Brignon, William R.; Dunham, Jason B. Major ecological realignments are already occurring in response to climate change. To be successful, conservation strategies now need to account for geographical patterns in traits sensitive to climate change, as well as climate threats to species-level diversity. As part of an effort to provide such information, we conducted a climate...
Crozier, Lisa G; McClure, Michelle M; Beechie, Tim J.; Bograd, Steven J.; Boughton, David A.; Carr, Mark H.; Cooney, Thomas D.; Dunham, Jason B.; Greene, Correigh M.; Haltuch, Melissa A; Hazen, Elliott L; Holzer, Damon M; Huff, David D.; Johnson, Rachel C.; Jordan, Chris E; Kaplan, Issac C; Lindley, Steven T; Mantua, Nathan J; Moyle, Peter B.; Myers, James M; Nelson, Mark W; Spence, Brian C; Weitkamp, Laurie A.; Williams, Thomas H.; Willis-Norton, Ellen Population viability analysis (PVA) is a powerful conservation tool, but one that remains unapproachable for many species. This is particularly true for species with multiple, broadly-distributed populations for which collecting suitable data can be challenging. A recently-developed method of multiple population viability analysis (MPVA),...
Neville, Helen M.; Leasure, Douglas R.; Dauwalter, Daniel C.; Dunham, Jason B.; Bjork, Robin; Fesenmyer, Kurt A.; Chelgren, Nathan; Peacock, Mary M.; Luce, Charles H; Isaak, Daniel J.; Carranza, Lee Ann; Sjoberg, Jon; Wengerd, Seth J. Climate change is already resulting in changes in cold desert ecosystems, lending urgency to the need to understand climate change effects and develop effective adaptation strategies. In this review, we synthesize information on changes in climate and hydrologic processes during the last century for the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau, and...
Snyder, Keirith A.; Evers, Louisa B.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Dunham, Jason B.; Bradford, John B.; Loik, Michael E. Context: Diadromous fish populations in the Pacific Northwest face challenges along their migratory routes from declining habitat quality, harvest, and barriers to longitudinal connectivity. These stressors complicate the prioritization of proposed management actions intended to improve conditions for migratory fishes including anadromous salmon...
Snyder, Marcía N; Schumaker, Nathan H.; Ebersole, Joseph E; Dunham, Jason B.; Comeleo, Randy; Keefer, Matthew; Leinenbach, Peter; Brookes, Allen; Cope, Ben; Wu, Jennifer; Palmer, John; Keenan, Druscilla The success of species reintroductions can depend on a combination of environmental, demographic, and genetic factors. Although the importance of these factors in the success of reintroductions is well‐accepted, they are typically evaluated independently, which can miss important interactions. For species that persist in metapopulations, movement...
Mims, Meryl C.; Day, Casey C.; Burkhart, Jacob J.; Fuller, Matthew R.; Hinkle, Jameson; Bearlin, Andrew; Dunham, Jason B.; DeHaan, Patrick W.; Holden, Zachary A.; Landguth, Erin L. Population viability analysis (PVA) uses concepts from theoretical ecology to provide a powerful tool for quantitative estimates of population dynamics and extinction risks. However, conventional statistical PVA requires long-term data from every population of interest, whereas many species of concern exist in multiple isolated populations that...
Leasure, Douglas R.; Wenger, Seth J.; Chelgren, Nathan; Neville, Helen M.; Dauwalter, Daniel C.; Bjork, Robin; Fesenmyer, Kurt A.; Dunham, Jason B.; Peacock, Mary M.; Luce, Charlie H.; Lute, Abby C.; Isaak, Daniel J. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed the PRObability of Streamflow PERmanence (PROSPER) model, a GIS raster-based empirical model that provides streamflow permanence probabilities (probabilistic predictions) of a stream channel having year-round flow for any unregulated and minimally-impaired stream channel in the Pacific Northwest...
Jaeger, Kristin; Sando, Thomas R.; McShane, Ryan R.; Dunham, Jason B.; Hockman-Wert, David; Kaiser, Kendra E; Hafen, Konrad (Contractor); Risley, John; Blasch, Kyle Rarity and life history traits inform multiple dimensions of intrinsic risk to climate and environmental change and can help systematically identify at-risk species. We quantified relative geographic rarity (area of occupancy), climate niche breadth, and life history traits for 114 freshwater fishes, amphibians, and reptiles in the U.S. Pacific...
Meryl Mims; Deanna H. Olson; Pilliod, David S.; Dunham, Jason B. Phenology can be linked to individual fitness, particularly in strongly seasonal environments where the timing of events have important consequences for growth, condition, and survival. We studied the phenology of Coho Salmon hatching and emergence in streams with contrasting thermal variability, but in close geographic proximity. Following...
Campbell, Emily Y.; Dunham, Jason B.; Reeves, Gordon H.; Wondzell, Steve M. Incorporation of concepts from landscape ecology into understanding and managing riverine ecosystems has become widely known as riverscape ecology. Riverscape ecology emphasizes interactions among processes at different scales and their consequences for valued ecosystem components, such as riverine fishes. Past studies have focused strongly on...
Dunham, Jason B.; Angermeier, Paul L.; Crausbay, Shelley D.; Cravens, Amanda E.; Gosnell, Hannah; McEvoy, Jamie; Moritz, Max A.; Raheem, Nejem; Sanford, Todd
Executive SummaryWater temperature influences most physical and biological processes in streams, and along with streamflows is a major driver of ecosystem processes. Collecting data to measure water temperature is therefore imperative, and relatively straightforward. Several protocols exist for collecting stream temperature data, but these are...
Heck, Michael P.; Schultz, Luke D.; Hockman-Wert, David; Dinger, Eric C.; Dunham, Jason B.
Few would believe the importance of freshwater mussels to scientists here in the Pacific Northwest. These little-known and often-ignored organisms may live for over a century on the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and streams. Freshwater mussels have a story to tell, and researchers have developed a way of ‘reading’ this story. USGS Aquatic Biologist Jason Dunham discusses his
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A recently developed method of multiple population viability analysis (MPVA) addresses many limitations of traditional PVA.
Structured decision making can help identify realistic objectives and management alternatives to species reintroduction using a quantitative modeling framework.
Research from a recently published study in Biological Conservation is the topic of an upcoming article in a magazine of The Wildlife Society, covering important news and trends in the wildlife profession.
Managers seek information about populations most vulnerable to climate change to prioritize resources for climate adaptation efforts.
Survival and reproductive success of salmon and other diadromous fish depends on a return from the sea and upstream migration tens to thousands of miles through complex riverscapes to their birthplace.
Species reintroduction is a powerful conservation tool when successful, but it is an expensive management strategy and for many species including freshwater fish, reintroduction attempts often fail.
An interdisciplinary team comprised of USGS and university scientists has developed the Probability of Streamflow Permanence Model or PROSPER which predicts flow permanence for unregulated and minimally impaired streams in the Pacific Northwest.
Population viability analysis (PVA) bridges the gap between theoretical and applied ecology and is used to make policy decisions on high-profile conservation efforts. However, it’s use is limited to a single or few populations with long-term data.
Species rarity and life history traits are known within the field of conservation biology to be associated with extinction risk and may also be employed to inform their sensitivity or capacity to adapt to future climates.
USGS researchers are assessing habitat condition, watershed processes, and coho salmon populations in the context of land management and restoration activities.
Researchers from Oregon State University, the USGS, and the U.S. Forest Service studied coho salmon, from hatching through the first summer of life, in the Copper River Delta, Alaska to evaluate links between phenologies of life stages in a species with a complex life cycle.