Summer Burdick
I am an applied quantitative fish ecologist focused on understanding how agricultural water allocation affects imperiled fishes in the Klamath Basin. My educational background is in quantitative population dynamics and habitat use modeling. Most of my recent research is conducted as part of interdisciplinary collaborations with experts in various aspects of aquatic ecology.
Biography
Education:
M.S. 2005. Fisheries and Wildlife Science with minor in Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
B.S. 1999. Ecology, the Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
Research Interests:
The motivation for my research is determining the balance between anthropogenic water uses in the presence of a changing climate and the ecological needs of aquatic communities in the Klamath Basin. I am interested in understanding how water quality and availability affect when, where and how imperiled fish interact with both lotic and lentic environments at all life stages. My research interests extend from salmon and trout species to endangered suckers of the Klamath Basin. The primary goal of my present research is to identify and rank factors responsible for high apparent juvenile mortality of two ESA listed species, Lost River and shortnose suckers. My recent research includes 1) understanding the effects of agricultural water use on shoreline sucker spawning habitat, 2) a comprehensive survey of juvenile sucker health and condition relative to water quality, 3) investigating the link between water-quality and juvenile sucker mortality using in-lake mesocosms, 4) understanding long-term trends in water-quality, instream flow, and annual year class formation of suckers in the Upper Klamath basin, and 5) mapping juvenile sucker food webs in Upper Klamath Lake using stable isotopes.
Experience:
2006 to Present – Fish Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Fisheries Science Center, Klamath Falls Field Station, Klamath Falls, OR
2005-2006 - Marine Fisheries Research Fellow, North Carolina State University and North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Raleigh, NC
2003-2005 - Research Assistant, North Carolina State Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit, Raleigh, NC
Science and Products
Data for Trap Net Captured Juvenile Lost River and Shortnose Suckers from Upper Klamath Lake
Data included in this data set are for trap net captured juvenile suckers from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon starting in 2001. Data were collected on fishing effort, the number of suckers captured, sucker length, and sucker species. There are two levels of data. Net level data contains 14,838 records and the data file is 2,069 KB and fish level data contains 25,236 records and the data file is 1,...
Effects of microcystin-LR on juvenile Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) during feeding trials, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2014−16
Executive SummaryHistorically, populations of Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) of the Upper Klamath Basin were so numerous that they were commercially harvested; however, declining numbers throughout the 20th century led to the listing of the species under the United States Endangered Species Act in 1988. Habitat destruction, poor water...
Martin, Barbara A.; Echols, Kathy R.; Elliott, Diane G.; Feltz, Kevin; Conway, Carla M.; Burdick, Summer M.
Assessing causes of mortality for endangered juvenile Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) in mesocosms in Upper Klamath Lake, south-central Oregon, 2016
Executive SummaryThe recovery of endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) in Upper Klamath Lake, south-central Oregon, has been impeded because juveniles are not recruiting into adult spawning populations. Adult sucker populations spawn each spring but mortality of age-0 suckers during their first summer is excessively high, and...
Hereford, Danielle M.; Conway, Carla M.; Burdick, Summer M.; Elliott, Diane G.; Perry, Todd M.; Dolan-Caret, Amari; Harris, Alta C.
Juvenile Lost River and shortnose sucker year class strength, survival, and growth in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California—2016 Monitoring Report
Executive SummaryThe largest populations of federally endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) exist in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California. Upper Klamath Lake populations are decreasing because adult mortality, which is relatively low, is not being balanced by...
Burdick, Summer M.; Ostberg, Carl O.; Hoy, Marshal S.
Health and condition of endangered young-of-the-year Lost River and Shortnose suckers relative to water quality in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2014–2015
Most mortality of endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, occurs within the first year of life. Juvenile suckers in Clear Lake Reservoir, California, survive longer and may even recruit to the spawning populations. In a previous (2013–2014) study, the health and...
Burdick, Summer M.; Conway, Carla M.; Elliott, Diane G.; Hoy, Marshal S.; Dolan-Caret, Amari; Ostberg, Carl O.
Inter-annual variability in apparent relative production, survival, and growth of juvenile Lost River and shortnose suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2001–15
Executive SummaryPopulations of the once abundant Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) of the Upper Klamath Basin, decreased so substantially throughout the 20th century that they were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1988. Major landscape alterations, deterioration of water quality, and...
Burdick, Summer M.; Martin, Barbara A.
Juvenile sucker cohort tracking data summary and assessment of monitoring program, 2015
Populations of federally endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, are experiencing long-term declines in abundance. Upper Klamath Lake populations are decreasing because adult mortality, which is relatively low, is not being balanced by recruitment of young adult...
Burdick, Summer M.; Ostberg, Carl O.; Hereford, Mark E.; Hoy, Marshal S.
Predation on larval suckers in the Williamson River Delta revealed by molecular genetic assays—A pilot study
Predation of endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) during larval egress to Upper Klamath Lake from the Williamson River is poorly understood but may be an important factor limiting recruitment into adult spawning populations. Native and non-native piscivores are abundant in nursery...
Hereford, Danielle M.; Ostberg, Carl O.; Burdick, Summer M.
Efficiency of portable antennas for detecting passive integrated transponder tags in stream-dwelling salmonids
Portable antennas have become an increasingly common technique for tracking fish marked with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. We used logistic regression to evaluate how species, fish length, and physical habitat characteristics influence portable antenna detection efficiency in stream-dwelling brown trout (Salmo trutta), bull trout (...
Banish, Nolan P.; Burdick, Summer M.; Moyer, Katherine R.
Survival, movement, and health of hatchery-raised juvenile Lost River suckers within a mesocosm in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
The recovery of endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) in Upper Klamath Lake is limited by poor juvenile survival and failure to recruit into the adult population. Poor water quality, degradation of rearing habitat, and toxic levels of microcystin are hypothesized to contribute to low juvenile survival. Studies of wild juvenile suckers...
Hereford, Danielle M.; Burdick, Summer M.; Elliott, Diane G.; Dolan-Caret, Amari; Conway, Carla M.; Harris, Alta C.
Health and condition of endangered juvenile Lost River and shortnose suckers relative to water quality and fish assemblages in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California
Executive Summary Most mortality of endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, appears to occur within the first year of life. However, juvenile suckers in Clear Lake Reservoir, California, appear to survive longer and may even recruit to the spawning populations. Our...
Burdick, Summer M.; Elliott, Diane G.; Ostberg, Carl O.; Conway, Carla M.; Dolan-Caret, Amari; Hoy, Marshal S.; Feltz, Kevin P.; Echols, Kathy R. Effects of lake surface elevation on shoreline-spawning Lost River Suckers
We analyzed remote detection data from PIT-tagged Lost River Suckers Deltistes luxatus at four shoreline spawning areas in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, to determine whether spawning of this endangered species was affected by low water levels. Our investigation was motivated by the observation that the surface elevation of the lake during the 2010...
Burdick, Summer M.; Hewitt, David A.; Rasmussen, J.E.; Hayes, Brian; Janney, Eric; Harris, Alta C.
Simulation and validation of larval sucker dispersal and retention through the restored Williamson River Delta and Upper Klamath Lake system, Oregon
A hydrodynamic model with particle tracking was used to create individual-based simulations to describe larval fish dispersal through the restored Williamson River Delta and into Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. The model was verified by converting particle ages to larval lengths and comparing these lengths to lengths of larvae in net catches....
Wood, Tamara M.; Hendrixson, Heather A.; Markle, Douglas F.; Erdman, Charles S.; Burdick, Summer M.; Ellsworth, Craig M.
Western Fisheries Science News, October 2017 | Issue 5.10
Scientists Continue to Gain Insights into Endangered Suckers in the Klamath Basin
Western Fisheries Science News, August 2016 | Issue 4.8
Mesocosms Give Us the Fish-eye View into the Lives and Deaths of Endangered Suckers
Western Fisheries Science News, April 2015 | Issue 3.4
Is Spawning of Endangered Suckers in the Upper Klamath Lake Affected by Low Water Levels?