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Diseases - Marrowstone Marine Field Station
Fish Diseases
Disease Ecology Research at the Marrowstone Marine Field Station
Steelhead Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) - MMFS
Species Studied
Steelhead Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii) - MMFS
Species Studied
Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii)
Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) - MMFS
Species Studied
Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis)
Species Studied - Marrowstone Marine Field Station
The Disease Ecology Research Program at the Marrowstone Marine Field Station addresses fundamental disease processes that impact wild marine and anadromous fishes. The program is not designed around particular host or pathogen species; rather we investigate diseases processes that involve numerous species of marine hosts and pathogens. Please follow the links for more information about some...
Research - Marrowstone Marine Field Station
Investigations cover both basic and applied research aimed at providing scientific information relevant to the needs of federal, tribal, state, and local natural resource managers.
About Us - Marrowstone Marine Field Station
Basic and applied research at the Marrowstone Marine Field Station is directed towards understanding ecological processes that impact marine ecosystem health.
Directions - Headquarters Seattle Laboratory
Directions from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Staff Directory - Headquarters Seattle Laboratory
Staff at the Seattle Laboratory, Seattle, WA
Partnerships - Headquarters Seattle Laboratory
For more than five decades the WFRC has worked with partners to provide research findings to managers of aquatic resources.
Puget Sound Fall Chinook Estuarine Utilization - HSL
Tribal Relations
Puget Sound Fall Chinook Estuarine Utilization
U.S. West Coast and Alaska Marine Geohazards
Marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. Such underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
Devastating earthquakes in Japan (2011) and Chile (2010) that spawned pan-oceanic tsunamis sent a sobering reminder that U.S. coastlines are also vulnerable to natural disasters that originate in...

This part of the data release presents topography data from the Elwha River delta collected in March 2013. Topography data were collected on foot with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers mounted on backpacks.

This portion of the data release presents terrestrial invertebrate abundance data from samples collected in emergent and shrub vegetation along the edge of the Elwha River estuary, Washington, in 2007 and 2013 (no associated USGS Field Activities numbers because data were collected predominantly by biologists from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe). We deployed terrestrial insect fallout traps at ten

Investigations of coastal change and coastal resources often require continuous elevation profiles from the seafloor to coastal terrestrial landscapes. Differences in elevation data collection in the terrestrial and marine environments result in separate elevation products that may not share a vertical datum. This data release contains the assimilation of multiple elevation products into a contin

This portion of the data release presents sediment deposition in the estuary as measured using rod surface elevation tables (RSETs) at fifteen locations throughout the Elwha River estuary, Washington, from August 2011 to June 2014 (no associated USGS Field Activities numbers because data were collected predominantly by biologists from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe). The locations of the RSETs wer

This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in August 2012 using a personal watercraft (PWC) and the R/V Frontier. Both survey vessels were equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers.

This portion of the data release presents water column dissolved nutrient concentration data and water quality parameters from samples collected in the Elwha River estuary, Washington, in 2006, 2007, 2013, and 2014 (USGS Field Activities L-15-13-PS, L-24-13-PS, T-R5-13-PS, T-R6-13-PS, T-RA-14-PS, 2014-614-FA, 2014-628-FA, 2014-633-FA, 2014-666-FA). Water column samples were collected by hand in a

Estuary geomorphic units delineated at a scale of 1:1500 using a combination of (a) 11 September 2009 1 meter resolution NAIP aerial imagery; and (b) elevation-colored and hillshaded digital elevation models from USGS backpack/jetski topobathy surveys (17 September 2009) for areas < MHHW and aerial lidar surveys (4-6 April 2009) for elevations > MHHW.

This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in May 2012 using two personal watercraft (PWCs). The PWCs were equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers.

Spatial surveys of water column currents were performed between June 14 and 16, 2013, in the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon and Washington. These data were collected using an acoustic-doppler current profiler (ADCP).

Physical and chemical changes affect the biota within urban streams at varying scales ranging from individual organisms to populations and communities creating complex interactions that present challenges for characterizing and monitoring the impact on species utilizing these freshwater habitats. Salmonids, specifically cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

Estuary vegetation cover delineated from 30 August 2012 0.15-meter-resolution NPS Elwha PlaneCam aerial imagery at a scale of 1:1500.

Lagrangian surface currents were measured using drifters equipped with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. A total of 8 drifter deployments were performed between May 25 and June 8, 2013. For each deployment, drifters were released within the MCR and their positions were recorded until the drifters were recovered. The average duration of the drifter deployments varied between 1.6
Contaminants of legacy and emerging concern in largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, USA
We investigated occurrence, transport pathways, and effects of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants and other endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic media and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River. In 2009 and 2010, foodweb sampling at three sites along a gradient of contaminant exposure near Skamania (Washington),...
Nilsen, Elena B.; Zaugg, Steven D.; Alvarez, David A.; Morace, Jennifer L.; Waite, Ian R.; Counihan, Timothy D.; Hardiman, Jill M.; Torres, Leticia; Patino, Reynaldo; Mesa, Matthew G.; Grove, RobertA legacy of divergent fishery management regimes and the resilience of rainbow and cutthroat trout populations in Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington
As a means to increase visitation, early fisheries management in the National Park Service (NPS) promoted sport harvest and hatchery supplementation. Today, NPS management objectives focus on the preservation of native fish. We summarized management regimes of Olympic National Park's Lake Crescent, which included decades of liberal sport harvest...
Brenkman, Samuel J.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Kennedy, Philip R.; Baker, Bruce M.Holocene earthquakes and right-lateral slip on the left-lateral Darrington-Devils Mountain fault zone, northern Puget Sound, Washington
Sources of seismic hazard in the Puget Sound region of northwestern Washington include deep earthquakes associated with the Cascadia subduction zone, and shallow earthquakes associated with some of the numerous crustal (upper-plate) faults that crisscross the region. Our paleoseismic investigations on one of the more prominent crustal faults, the...
Personius, Stephen F.; Briggs, Richard W.; Nelson, Alan R.; Schermer, Elizabeth R; Maharrey, J. Zebulon; Sherrod, Brian; Spaulding, Sarah A.; Bradley, Lee-AnnMethow River Studies, Washington: abundance estimates from Beaver Creek and the Chewuch River screw trap, methodology testing in the Whitefish Island side channel, and survival and detection estimates from hatchery fish releases, 2013
Salmon and steelhead populations have been severely depleted in the Columbia River from factors such as the presence of tributary dams, unscreened irrigation diversions, and habitat degradation from logging, mining, grazing, and others (Raymond, 1988). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been funded by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to...
Martens, Kyle D.; Fish, Teresa M.; Watson, Grace A.; Connolly, Patrick J.Evaluation of the behavior and movement of adult summer steelhead in the lower Cowlitz River, Washington, following collection and release, 2013-2014
Summer steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) produced by a hatchery on the lower Cowlitz River, Washington, support a popular sport fishery during June–September each year. Many of these fish return to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery and are held until they are spawned in December. In the past, fishery managers have released some of the steelhead that...
Kock, Tobias J.; Liedtke, Theresa L.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Gleizes, Chris; Dammers, WolfAssessing climate-change risks to cultural and natural resources in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA
We provide an overview of an interdisciplinary special issue that examines the influence of climate change on people and fish in the Yakima River Basin, USA. Jenni et al. (2013) addresses stakeholder-relevant climate change issues, such as water availability and uncertainty, with decision analysis tools. Montag et al. (2014) explores Yakama Tribal...
Hatten, James R.; Waste, Stephen M.; Maule, Alec G.Identifying stakeholder-relevant climate change impacts: a case study in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA
Designing climate-related research so that study results will be useful to natural resource managers is a unique challenge. While decision makers increasingly recognize the need to consider climate change in their resource management plans, and climate scientists recognize the importance of providing locally-relevant climate data and projections,...
Jenni, K.; Graves, D.; Hardiman, Jill M.; Hatten, James R.; Mastin, Mark C.; Mesa, Matthew G.; Montag, J.; Nieman, Timothy; Voss, Frank D.; Maule, Alec G.Wind River subbasin restoration: U.S. Geological Survey annual report November 2012 through December 2013
Executive Summary The Wind River subbasin in southwest Washington State provides habitat for a population of wild Lower Columbia River steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss. There have been no hatchery steelhead planted in the Wind River subbasin since 1994, and hatchery adults are estimated to be less than one percent of adults in any year (pers comm....
Jezorek, Ian G.; Connolly, Patrick J.Evaluating a slope-stability model for shallow rain-induced landslides using gage and satellite data
Improving prediction of landslide early warning systems requires accurate estimation of the conditions that trigger slope failures. This study tested a slope-stability model for shallow rainfall-induced landslides by utilizing rainfall information from gauge and satellite records. We used the TRIGRS model (Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-...
Yatheendradas, S.; Kirschbaum, D.; Baum, Rex L.; Godt, Jonathan W.Post-release behavior and movement patterns of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) after capture using alternative commercial fish gear, lower Columbia River, Washington and Oregon, 2013
Commercial salmon Oncorhynchus spp. fishers traditionally have used gill nets, and more recently tangle nets, to capture adult salmon in the lower Columbia River, Washington and Oregon, but these gear types are not selective and can result in unintentional injury or death to non-target species, which is a problem when wild or Endangered Species...
Liedtke, Theresa L.; Kock, Tobias J.; Evans, Scott D.; Hansen, Gabriel S.; Rondorf, Dennis W.Evaluation of juvenile salmonid behavior near a prototype weir box at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington, 2013
Collection of juvenile salmonids at Cowlitz Falls Dam is a critical part of the effort to restore salmon in the upper Cowlitz River because the majority of fish that are not collected at the dam pass downstream and enter a large reservoir where they become landlocked and lost to the anadromous fish population. However, the juvenile fish collection...
Kock, Tobias J.; Liedtke, Theresa L.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Tomka, Ryan G.; Rondorf, Dennis W.Guidelines for monitoring and adaptively managing restoration of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) on the Elwha River
As of January, 2014, the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on the Elwha River, Washington, represents the largest dam decommissioning to date in the United States. Dam removal is the single largest step in meeting the goals of the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992 (The Elwha Act) — full restoration of the...
Peters, R.J.; Duda, J.J.; Pess, G.R.; Zimmerman, M.; Crain, P.; Hughes, Z.; Wilson, A.; Liermann, M.C.; Morley, S.A.; McMillan, J.; Denton, K.; Warheit, K.C1 West Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: C1 West Transect; Depth: 9.3 Meters (30.4 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 0.7 Kilometers (0.4 Miles); Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.14525225,-123.57361291; Site Description: Substrate is entirely sand. Current was high and contained lots of drift seaweed and eelgrass (0:04, 0:38 seconds). Though seaweeds were absent in 2016
...A2 East Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: A2 East Transect; Depth: 12.9 Meters (42.3 Feet); Distance from river mouth: Kilometers 1.8 (1.1 Miles); Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.14130295, -123.58766124; Site Description: One of our deeper sites at over 40 feet. Sediment is primarily sand/sandy mud. Five species of seaweeds are present though not abundant. The two most
...A2 West Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: A2 West Transect; Depth: 12.8 Meters (42.0 Feet); Distance from river mouth: Kilometers 1.8 (1.1 Miles); Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.14130295, -123.5883331; Site Description: One of our deeper sites at over 40 feet. Sediment is primarily sand/sandy mud with scattered boulders. Seven species of seaweeds are present though not
...GeoGirls_Sediment1
GeoGirls collect water samples and flow measurements to model the transport of volcanic sediments.
H2 East Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: H2 East Transect; Depth: 7.6 Meters (24.8 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 2.6 Kilometers (1.6 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.15008216,-123.53210661; Site Description: This site is medium to shallow depth. Substrate is mainly gravel with some sand, cobble and an occasional boulder and has not changed since dam
...H2 West Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: H2 West Transect; Depth: 7.3 Meters (23.8 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 2.6 Kilometers (1.6 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.15008216,-123.53277857; Site Description: This site is medium to shallow depth. Substrate is mainly gravel with some sand, cobble and an occasional boulder and has not changed since dam
...A1 East Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: A1 East Transect; Depth: 7.7 Meters (25.4 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 1.8 Kilometers (1.1 Miles) West; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.13870775, -123.5855312; Site Description: Transect is in eastern part of Freshwater Bay. Sediment is primarily sand/sandy mud. Previous small boulders appear to still be buried. The sand on
...A1 West Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: A1 West Transect; Depth: 8.7 Meters (28.7 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 1.9 Kilometers (1.2 Miles) West; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.13870775, -123.586203; Site Description: Transect is in eastern part of Freshwater Bay. Sediment is primarily sand/sandy mud with patches of boulders. The sandy areas on the entire transect
...K1 East Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: K1 East Transect; Depth: 6.2 Meters (20.4 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 4.5 Kilometers (2.8 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.13592923,-123.5101581; Site Description: This is a shallow site. Sediment is a gravel/sand mixture. Both red (1:29 seconds) and brown seaweed was abundant but this year browns were
...K1 West Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: K1 West Transect; Depth: 5.5 Meters (18.0 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 4.5 Kilometers (2.8 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.13592923,-123.51082988; Site Description: This is a shallow site. Sediment is a gravel/sand mixture. Both red (0:20, 0:25 seconds) and brown seaweed was abundant with the browns more
...F2 West Transect – 2017
Permanent Site: F2 West Transect; Depth: 11.1 Meters (36.3 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 1.5 Kilometers (0.9 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.15672004,-123.55036603; Site Description: Substrate is mainly a gravel/cobble mixture with an occasional boulder. Seven species of brown seaweed were present. Seaweed was abundant but not
...Mount St. Helens, WA seen from the flank of Mount Adams to east.
Mount St. Helens, Washington seen from the flank of Mount Adams to the east.
New mapping in the western portion of the Columbia Gorge in Skamania County, Washington, shows previously unrecognized landslides beneath dense forest cover.

Understanding Disease Outbreaks in Populations of Wild Marine Fishes

NEW DELHI, INDIA – The collaborative work of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe to restore the Elwha River of Washington, USA was recognized as a world-renowned restoration project during the awarding of the 2016 Thiess International Riverprize.

Developing Water Temperature Models to Help Understand Fish Population Dynamics and Management Actions
MEDIA ADVISORY
Twenty middle-school girls from Washington and Oregon are participating in the second annual “GeoGirls” outdoor volcano science program at Mount St. Helens, jointly organized by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Mount St. Helens Institute.

New USGS and NOAA Collaboration in Alaska Will Help Gain Insight into Juvenile Chinook Salmon Distributions and Migrations

WFRC Welcomes Dr. Dave Beauchamp as New Ecology Section Chief
First-of-its-kind survey shows that algal toxins are found nationwide

New WFRC Pump-house in Magnuson Park Provides Water for Scientific Research, Wetlands, Wildlife and Recreation
Building a river setback levee to reduce the risk of flood for a community may also help endangered fish species to thrive, according to the results of a novel computer model reported by the U.S. Geological Survey.