Images

This is a photo of a fish in Ross Lake, WA called the Redside Shiner. Ecologists at the Western Fisheries Research Center are studying this fish and the food web in Ross Lake.

This is a photo of Ross Dam as viewed from the boat. This photo was taken by fisheries scientists from the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center.

This is a photo of scientists, Ben Jensen and Shelley Johnson, collecting tissue samples from a rainbow trout on Ross Lake. The USGS Western Fisheries Research Center does work on Ross Lake to understand the food web and ecology for salmon.

This is a photo of scientist, Marshal Hoy, holding a bull trout in Ross Lake. The USGS Western Fisheries Research Center does food web studies in Ross Lake to better understand the ecology and habitat for salmon in the area.

These are two USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists, Carl Ostberg and Jeff Duda (from left to right), sitting on a fallen tree in Skagit, WA. These scientists study critical fish, like salmon, in the Ross Dam reservoir and tributaries.

This is a map of the lower Yakima River showing locations where acoustic telemetry receivers were deployed (open circles) to detect tagged fish that were released at two sites (stars). This was part of the study titled, "Survival implications of diversion entrainment for out-migrating juvenile Chinook Salmon and steelhead.

Map of the study system. The potential anadromous distribution above the dams indicated is based only on potential physical access to those stream segments (i.e., no migration barriers). Further details and habitat quality results from intrinsic potential modeling can be found in Duda and Hardiman.

This is a photo of a dam in the lower Yakima River. Efforts to ameliorate the negative effects of diversion dams on aquatic species of concern are important in rivers where water withdrawal supports agricultural economies, and they are likely to become increasingly important with impending climate change. 

Survival probability estimates and 95% confidence intervals for yearling Chinook Salmon, juvenile steelhead, and subyearling Chinook Salmon at three diversion dams on the Yakima River, Washington.

Estimated relationship between entrainment probability and proportion of river flow entering canals at Wapato Dam, Sunnyside Dam, and Prosser Dam on the Yakima River, Washington. The relationships are shown at the mean total river flow for (A) yearling Chinook Salmon, (B) juvenile steelhead, and (C) subyearling Chinook Salmon.

This is a map of the nets on the Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon. The Western Fisheries Research Center carefully monitors juvenile Sucker populations for signs of population recovery and to better understand where they habitate.

Chirs Pullano and Collin Smith unearth the buried cable tethering an acoustic receiver to shore in the lower Columbia River estuary.  Shifting sands frequently bury equipment making it difficult to retrieve. During the 2025 field season, researchers deployed acoustic telemetry equipment to track yearling Chinook salmon as they moved through both restored e

Ryan Tomka retrieves an acoustic telemetry receiver from the lower Columbia River estuary. During the 2025 field season, researchers deployed acoustic telemetry equipment to track yearling Chinook salmon as they moved through both restored estuarine wetlands and the main Columbia River channel.

Chris Pullano and Ryan Tomka load acoustic telemetry receives on to boat in lower Columbia River estuary. Field work was recently completed for the first year of a study to better understand how young salmon use restored habitats in the Lower Columbia River Estuary.

Collin Smith records metadata for acoustic telemetry deployments in the lower Columbia River estuary.

This is a photo of the endangered Klamath Sucker in Upper Klamath Lake, OR. Through decades of research, scientists of the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center have determined that, over the last 30 years, something has prevented young suckers from reaching adulthood.

This is an infographic of the life cycle of the parasite, Diplostomum gavium. This parasite affects the Sucker fish in the Upper Klamath Lake. Upper Klamath Lake is home to large colonies of birds and an abundance of snails and fish, making it a haven for trematodes who are reliant on all three for their life cycle. Birds host adult flukes in their intestines.

This is a photo of Melanie Prentice and Grace Crandall working in the lab at the Western Fisheries Research Center Marrowstone Marine Field Station to find the causative agent behind Sea Star Wasting Disease, a bacteria called, Vibrio pectenicida.

Depth of earthquakes during the July 8 - August 25, 2025, seismic swarm at Mount Rainier, WA.

Seismicity beneath Mount Rainier, Washington, showing earthquakes during 2020-2025 in blue, and those that occurred as part of an earthquake swarm on July 8 - August 25, 2025, in orange.

Plots of earthquake magnitudes (top) and numbers (bottom) over the course of the July 8 - August 25, 2025 seismic swarm at Mount Rainier, Washington.  The swarm was greatest in terms of numbers of events on the morning of July 8.  After that time, earthquake rates slowly decreased over the course of the following days.