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Heritability of Disease Resistance and Immune Function in Chinook Salmon, with Special Emphasis on Broodstock Culling to Control Bacterial Kidney Disease

Many diseases of trout and salmon persist in our cultured fish stocks today, despite improvements in fish culture practices and years of research on vaccines and chemotherapeutants. An excellent example is bacterial kidney disease (BKD), caused by the bacterium Renibacterium salmoninarum. Infections by R. salmoninarum are considered by many to be More...

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Effects of Swimming and Exhaustive Stress in Pacific Lamprey (Lampetra tridentata)

A management decision was made in 1994 to increase survival of migrating juvenile salmon by increasing the proportion of river water and fish passed via spill at Snake and Columbia river dams. One result of this action was an increase in dissolved gas supersaturation, which can lead to gas bubble disease in fish. This disease can lead to More...

  • Image of as bubbles in gill filaments.

Estuary Utilization by Juvenile Chinook Salmon

Little is known about the importance of estuarine habitats for juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), hence managers are uncertain of the appropriate levels of protection for such habitats. Research to determine the length of residence and growth of juvenile chinook salmon in the Skagit River estuary will indicate the importance of More...

  • Tidal channels in the estuarine emergent marsh provide food and habitat for juvenile chinook salmon.

Investigating Passage of ESA-listed Juvenile Fall Chinook Salmon at Lower Granite Dam During Winter When the Fish Bypass System is Not Operated

Fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Snake River are currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Although fish bypass systems reduce the mortality of fish entering turbine intakes at mainstem hydroelectric dams, they are only operated during the spring, summer, and early fall during the peaks of seaward More...

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Eurasian Ruffe

Eurasian Ruffe pose a threat to native fish because they(1) mature quickly, (2) have a high reproductive capacity, and (3) easily adapt to new environments. Ruffe were first detected in western Lake Superior in 1986. UMESC scientists are conducting research on various types of piscicides (chemicals that kill fish). They are attempting to develop More...

  • Eurasian ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus)

Paddlefish Study Project

Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) have been lost from four states and Canada, and 11 of 22 states within the remaining species range now list the paddlefish as endangered, threatened, or a species of special concern. Restoration of paddlefish populations is a shared goal of many state and federal agencies. UMESC scientists, in collaboration with the More...

  • Image of a Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)

Near-Shore Habitat Use by Endangered Juvenile Suckers

The objectives of this study are 1) to determine how and when juvenile suckers use near-shore habitat with emergent vegetation, 2) determine how the distribution and abundance of juvenile suckers varies between near shore and offshore areas as well as between different areas of the lake over time, 3) determine if water quality conditions affect More...

  • Juvenile sucker captured in emergent vegetation.

Zebra Mussels

Zebra mussels have caused drastic declines in native clam and mussel populations in some locations. Zebra mussels compete with other invertebrates and young fish for plankton, the primary food source for these groups. UMESC scientists are investigating the effects zebra mussels are having on the riverine ecosystem. This study examines the effects More...

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Genetic Effects of Hatchery Supplementation on Productivity for Naturally Spawning Salmon

This study evaluates costs and benefits for alternative sources of broodstock for supplementation, and tests for domestication in hatchery programs. The study tests for genetic differences in the migration, growth, and survival of hatchery and wild steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and of hatchery and wild spring chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) in More...

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Vertical Distribution of Outmigrating Juvenile Salmon and Steelhead

Research biologists at the Columbia River Research Laboratory are using global positioning systems (GPS) in a study of the distribution of juvenile salmon in relation to dissolved gas supersaturation in the Columbia and Snake rivers. The study is being conducted between Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River and on the Columbia River, a distance of 42 More...

  • Image of global positioning systems (GPS) in use

White Sturgeon Restoration and Enhancement in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam

The goal of this work is to provide information to aid state, federal, and tribal managers in efforts to protect and restore the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Columbia River Basin Construction and operation of dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers for hydroelectricity, navigation, and irrigation have adversely affected white More...

  • White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus).

Olfactory Sensitivity of Pacific Lampreys to Petromyzonol Sulfate

Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) populations are in decline or have been extirpated from much of their historical range in the Columbia River Basin. Evidence collected for sea lampreys suggests they may not home to natal streams, but instead may use their olfactory ability to detect the presence of larval and adult lampreys as discrete More...

  • Adult Pacific lamprey captured at Bonneville Dam and held in captivity for olfactory sensitivity exp