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Jim Peterson, PhD

Unit Leader - Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Research Interests

Jim's research focuses on multiple aspects of aquatic ecology- with an emphasis on stream fish communities. Most of his work has been in identifying and quantifying the effects of physical and biotic factors on stream fishes at multiple scales. This includes studies of population dynamics, community production, and fish-habitat/landscape relationships. Other aspects of his research include evaluating the efficiency of fish collection and population-estimation techniques and computer software development. He believes that the status of natural resources is dependent upon the ability to predict the impacts of environmental perturbations or differing management schemes. Thus, the principal goal of his research is to develop the tools and understanding necessary for effective and efficient fisheries management and conservation.

Professional Experience

  • Assistant Unit Leader, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2011-2019

  • Assistant Unit Leader, Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 1999-2011

Education and Certifications

  • Ph D University of Missouri 1996

  • MS University of Illinois 1989

  • BS University of Illinois 1986

Science and Products

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Image: Flint River at Downtown Albany

SERAP: The Effects of Climate Change on Aquatic Species and Habitat in the Southeast

USGS researchers assessed how climate change can affect land cover and flow in river systems, examining a variety of resolutions for detecting and projecting the conditions of aquatic habitats and species.
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
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SERAP: The Effects of Climate Change on Aquatic Species and Habitat in the Southeast

USGS researchers assessed how climate change can affect land cover and flow in river systems, examining a variety of resolutions for detecting and projecting the conditions of aquatic habitats and species.
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Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) monitoring data for metademographic analysis 2010-2018, Oregon

This dataset contains information from surveys conducted 2010-2018 by USGS as part of a long-term Oregon spotted frog monitoring effort in the central Oregon range. Data consist of site, survey, habitat, and species detection covariates, as well as inter-site distance measurements.
By
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Long-term amphibian monitoring data from the Willamette Valley, Oregon (2004-2015)

This dataset contains information from surveys conducted 2004-2015 by USGS as part of a long-term amphibian monitoring effort in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Data consist of site, survey, habitat, and species detection covariates.
By
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Filter Total Items: 54

Fish misidentification and potential implications to monitoring within the San Francisco Estuary, California

Fish monitoring programs often rely on the collection, species identification, and counting of individual fish over time to inform natural resource management decisions. Thus, the utility of the data used to inform these decisions can be negatively affected by species misidentification. Fish species misidentification bias can be minimized by confirming identification using genetic techniques, trai
Authors
J. E. Kirsch, J. L. Day, James Peterson, D. K. Fullerton
By
Cooperative Research Units

Assessment of habitat availability for juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) in the Willamette River, Oregon

The Willamette River, Oregon, is home to two salmonid species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, Upper WIllamette River spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Upper Willamette River winter steelhead (O. mykiss). Streamflow in the Willamette River is regulated by upstream dams, 13 of which are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as part of the Will
Authors
James S. White, James T. Peterson, Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, Tobias J. Kock, J. Rose Wallick
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Integrated tools for identifying optimal flow regimes and evaluating alternative minimum flows for recovering at-risk salmonids in a highly managed system

Water resource managers are faced with difficult decisions on how to satisfy human water needs while maintaining or restoring riverine ecosystems. Decision sciences have developed approaches and tools that can be used to break down difficult water management decisions into their component parts. An essential aspect of these approaches is the use of quantitative models to evaluate alternative manag
Authors
James Peterson, Jessica E. Pease, Luke Whitman, James White, Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, Stewart A. Rounds, J. Rose Wallick
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Oregon Water Science Center

Laboratory infection rates and associated mortality of juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) from parasitic copepod (Salmincola californiensis)

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) rearing in lakes and reservoirs above dams have been known to become heavily infected with an ectoparasitic copepod (Salmincola californiensis). Little is known about the factors that affect the parasite infection prevalence and intensity. However, previous research suggests that the parasite may negatively affect the fitness and survival of the host fish. The ef
Authors
Travis Neal, Michael L. Kent, Justin Sanders, Carl B. Schreck, James Peterson
By
Cooperative Research Units

Rapid phenotypic stock identification of Chinook Salmon in recreational fishery management

Rapid phenotypic stock identification in mixed-stock fisheries can provide a useful alternative to more time-intensive methods (e.g., coded wire tags, genetics) in assessing harvest and informing management decisions. We leveraged local ecological knowledge, existing stock identification methods, and understanding of life history differences to develop rapid stock identification tools for fall-run
Authors
Alexander J. Jensen, Carl B. Schreck, James Peterson
By
Cooperative Research Units

Application of genetic stock identification and parentage-based tagging in a mixed-stock recreational chinook salmon fishery

Genetic methods can guide and improve the management of recreational mixed-stock fisheries by informing stock-specific estimates of harvest. We applied genetic stock identification and parentage-based tagging to a recreational Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha fishery in the Columbia River to illustrate the value of genetic analysis in management. We sampled landed catch in 2017 and 2018, as
Authors
Alexander J. Jensen, Carl B. Schreck, Jon E. Hess, Sandra Bohn, Kathleen G. O’Malley, James Peterson
By
Cooperative Research Units

Concealment of juvenile bull trout in response to temperature, light, and substrate: Implications for detection

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) are challenging to detect as a result of the species cryptic behavior and coloration, relatively low densities in complex habitats, and affinity for cold, high clarity, low conductivity waters. Bull trout are also closely associated with the stream bed, frequently conceal in substrate, and this concealment behavior is poorly understood. Consequently, population
Authors
Russell F. Thurow, James Peterson, Gwynne L. Chandler, Christine M. Moffitt, Theodore C. Bjornn
By
Cooperative Research Units

Decision analysis for greater insights into the development and evaluation of Chinook salmon restoration strategies in California’s Central Valley

Considerable amounts of resources have been invested in ecological restoration projects across the globe to restore ecosystem integrity. Restoration strategies are often diverse and have been met with mixed success. In this paper, we describe the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) decision-support models developed by the Central Valley Project Improvement Act Science Integration Team as par
Authors
James Peterson, Adam Duarte
By
Cooperative Research Units

Using a bayesian multistate occupancy model to assess seabird and shorebird status in Glacier Bay, Alaska

The U.S. Department of Interior National Park Service is charged with both monitoring avian communities and evaluating the influence of visitors to National Parks on sensitive species; however, this task is challenging considering that sampling programs often involve multiple species, each with differing behavior, habitat requirements, and detectability. Our objectives were to build a model to des
Authors
Steven L. Whitlock, Tania Lewis, James Peterson
By
Cooperative Research Units

Estimation of metademographic rates and landscape connectivity for a conservation-reliant anuran

ContextAmphibian conservation efforts commonly assume populations are tied to waterbodies that collectively function as a metapopulation. This assumption is rarely evaluated, and there is a need to understand the degree of connectivity among patches to appropriately define, manage, and conserve biological populations.ObjectivesOur objectives were to quantify local persistence, colonization, and re
Authors
Adam Duarte, James Peterson, Christopher Pearl, Jennifer Christine Rowe, Brome McCreary, Stephanie Galvan, Michael Adams
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Comparing environmental flow implementation options with structured decision making: Case study from the Willamette River, Oregon

Many frameworks have been used to identify environmental flows for sustaining river ecosystems or specific taxa in the face of widespread flow alteration for human use. However, these methods mostly focus on identifying suitable flows and largely ignore the important links between management actions, resulting flows, flow variability, and ecosystem or social responses. Structured decision making (
Authors
J. Tyrell DeWeber, James Peterson
By
Cooperative Research Units

Odds ratios and hurdle models: a long-term analysis of parasite infection patterns in endangered young-of-the-year suckers from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, USA

We used odds ratios and a hurdle model to analyze parasite co-infections over 25 years on >20,000 young-of-the year of endangered Shortnose and Lost River Suckers. Host ecologies differed as did parasite infections. Shortnose Suckers were more likely to be caught inshore and 3–5 times more likely to have Bolbophorus spp. and Contracaecum sp. infections, and Lost River Suckers were more likely to b
Authors
Douglas F. Markle, Andrew Janik, James Peterson, Anindo Choudhury, David C. Simon, Vasyl V. Tkach, Mark R. Terwilliger, Justin L. Sanders, Michael L. Kent
By
Cooperative Research Units

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