Podcast

I didn't realize I could type the same time I posted my podcast so here is my podcast on the first project I did as an REU student. There are some mess ups but I seemed to mess in everyone. Practice makes perfect right?

First podcast

Powered by Podbean.com

Puget Sound Georgia Basin Conference (PSGB)

One of the projects I have worked on during my time as an REU student is in the Nearshore with Anne Shaffer of WDFW. Data from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Anne's Nearshore work was collaborated together to get a picture of how juvenile salmonids use the estuaries at the mouth of the Elwha River. Anne was lead author on a paper discussing the results (the manuscript has been submitted and we are waiting to hear back from journal editors) and I was a co-author on this paper for all the years of data collecting. The data collecting was all the seining I have talked about previously on this blog. From the results of data analysis Daniel and I created a poster that we brought to the PSGB conference. I was able to go to this conference through the generousity of the National Science Foundation. I got to go for all three days of the conference and I attended some amazing talks and learned about all the great science going on in our own backyard the Salish Sea. I learned alot and had lots of fun doing it! We got stay in a brand new hotel that is LEED certified and has the largest green roof in Seattle! A good time all around!

Steelhead PIT tagging

On February 5th Mel and I assisted the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Gary Wynans from NOAA with PIT tagging and tissue sampling of juvenile steelhead. This is part of the re-colonization project that Gary is spearheading. Gary is a fish geneticist for NOAA and just an all around great guy. The purpose of this project is to tag and gather genetic samples via tail fin clips, then use this genetic information to catalog families of native Elwha Steelhead. The tribe uses this genetic information when they get ready to spawn these fish to maximize genetic diversity by not breed siblings to each other. The fish we handled today are the future of the native steelhead runs in the Elwha River when the dams come down their prodgengy will the future steelhead runs of the Elwha. I believe this is the fifth year of this project. I guess you are wondering how we got these little guys. When I say little guys they were naturally spawned in the Elwha this spring and I helped other members of the tribe gather 981 fry this summer by electrofishing the side channels of the Elwha. The preferred method of gathering these fish is by pumping redds (fish egg nests) but we were unable to do that this spring because of the high flows.

My favorite part of this project is being able to insert the PIT tag. We do this with a large gauge needle. We put the tag which is similar to a big grain of rice inside of the hollow needle and then inject it on the underside of the fish. All the fish we tagged were in the 100mm range. When we got done tagging and clipping we put these guys out in the raceways at the hatchery where they will be reared until they are ready to spawn.