I see fish as an interesting and integral part of our world; for recreation, as a food source and for ecosystem function. I have worked as a fishery biologist for over 25 years and have expertise in life history analysis, specifically using otoliths (microstructure and microchemistry) to gain insight into fish age, growth, habitat usage, and migration history.
Education:
M.S. 1993. Fisheries, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
B.S. 1989. Fisheries, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Research Interests:
I am interested in evaluating life history characteristics of fish to increase our understanding of how populations function within their ecosystem and how we can best support and restore them. I am also interested in the impact that hatchery, introduced or invasive species have on native populations and food webs.
I have experience with various fisheries field and laboratory techniques including: beach seining, fyke netting, lampara netting, electrofishing, weir design and installation, hatchery spawning and rearing techniques, cryopreservation of milt, scale mounting, otolith polishing, fish aging (otoliths, scales and fin rays), microstructural analysis of otoliths using an imaging system, microchemical analysis of otoliths (LA-ICPMS, MC-LA-ICPMS).
Other duties have included:
Experience:
1991 to Present - Fish Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Fisheries Research Center, Seattle, WA
1987-1991 – Fisheries Technician and Research Assistant, University of Washington School of Fisheries, Seattle, WA
1987-1990 – Field crew, Alaska Salmon Program, University of Washington, School of Fisheries, Seattle, WA
The focus of our research is the ecological analysis of Pacific Northwest fishes through age and growth structures such as: scales, fin rays and otoliths (small calcium carbonate deposits beneath the brain used in hearing and balance that grow in proportion to the overall growth of the fish). These structures are utilized as research tools for understanding life histories and habitat...
Expanding human population and urbanization alters freshwater systems through structural changes to habitat, temperature effects from increased runoff and reduced canopy cover, altered flows, and increased toxicants. Current stream assessments stop short of measuring health or condition of species utilizing these freshwater habitats and fail to...
Spanjer, Andrew R.; Moran, Patrick W.; Larsen, Kimberly; Wetzel, Lisa; Hansen, Adam G.; Beauchamp, David A. Emigration was evaluated for hatchery Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) microjacks (age-1 mature males) and immature parr (age-1 juveniles, both sexes) released from both a hatchery and a natural stream (fish released as fry). In the hatchery, volitional releases (∼14 to 15 months post-fertilization) to an adjacent river occurred...
Hayes, Michael C.; Rubin, Steve P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A. Connectivity of river networks and the movements among habitats can be critical for the life history of many fish species, and understanding of the patterns of movement is central to managing populations, communities, and the landscapes they use. We combined passive integrated transponder tagging over 4 years and strontium isotopes in otoliths to...
Benjamin, Joseph R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Martens, Kyle D.; Larsen, Kimberly; Connolly, Patrick J. An experiment was undertaken to determine the relative strength of maternal and stock effects in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) reared in a common environment, as a companion study to our investigation of hatchery and wild Chinook salmon. Pure-strain and reciprocal crosses were made between two hatchery stocks (Carson and Warm Springs...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Hayes, Michael C.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Stenberg, Karl D. The program at Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery in north - central Oregon was initiated with spring Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha from the Warm Springs River. Managers included wild fish in the broodstock most years and avoided artificial selection to minimize genetic divergence from the wild founder population. We tested for genetic...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Hayes, Michael C.; Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Leonetti We tested whether differences in size of unfed fry at release affected survival and growth of juvenile steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in hatchery ponds and streams. Differences in fry size were produced by selecting and spawning females that differed in the mean size of their eggs. Experiments were initiated in 1996 and 1999 with hatchery steelhead...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Stenberg, Karl D. We tested whether differences in developmental stage of unfed fry at release affected subsequent survival and growth of steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in a stream and hatchery ponds. Differences in development were created by artificially spawning hatchery steelhead from the Clearwater River, Idaho, and incubating their progeny at three different...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Hayes, Michael C.; Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Stenberg, Karl D. We tested whether varying incubation temperatures to match development between embryos from different spawning dates affected survival and growth of unfed steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss fry released in a stream and in hatchery ponds. Hatchery steelhead returning to the Clearwater River, Idaho were artificially spawned on two dates separated by a...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Hayes, Michael C.; Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Stenberg, Karl D.; Baker, Bruce M. The accuracy of a model that predicts time between fertilization and maximum alevin wet weight (MAWW) from incubation temperature was tested for steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery on the Clearwater River, Idaho. MAWW corresponds to the button-up fry stage of development. Embryos were incubated at warm (mean=11.6...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Hayes, Michael C.; Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Slatton, Stacey L. This study was initiated in the early 1990s to provide managers with data comparing genetic fitness for natural rearing, as measured by survival of juveniles in freshwater, between steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery and wild steelhead from the Clearwater River, Idaho. We artificially spawned hatchery steelhead and...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Hayes, Michael C.; Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Hensleigh, Jay E.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Baker, Bruce M.; Leonetti; Stenberg, Karl D.; Slatton, Stacey L. Various studies suggest that sea ranching of anadromous salmonids can result in domestication (increased fitness in the hatchery program) and a loss of fitness for natural production; however, the mechanism has not been characterized adequately. We artificially spawned hatchery and wild steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss from the Clearwater River,...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Hayes, Michael C.; Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Hensleigh, Jay E.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Baker, Bruce M. Freshwater survival in hatchery and natural rearing environments was compared between progeny of hatchery (H) and wild (W) steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss from the Clearwater River drainage in Idaho. Adults from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery and wild adults from Fish Creek fish were artificially spawned, and their progeny were genetically marked...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Hayes, Michael C.; Rubin, Stephen P.; Reisenbichler, Reginald R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Hensleigh, Jay E.; Leonetti