Research Teams
Bruce Rieman, Research
Fisheries Scientist, Retired
email: brieman[at]fs.fed.us
Education
- B.S. Zoology, University of Idaho 1973
- M.S. Fisheries Management, University of
Idaho 1976
- PhD Forestry, Wildlife and Range Sciences,
University of Idaho 1987
Background and Research Emphasis
My background in fish research and management
includes positions with state and federal agencies and the University of Idaho.
I am the Team Leader for the Fisheries Work Group with the Rocky Mountain
Research Station. My research efforts and interests are principally with the
conservation biology of salmonids in the Intermountain Region. I work with
collaborators and students at the state universities in Idaho, Montana, Utah,
and Nevada.
The salmonid populations of the Intermountain
West have declined in number and distribution throughout the region. Local
extinctions and restricted distributions are common. Habitat loss and
fragmentation, and the expansion of exotic species are believed to be principle
causes. Growing concerns have culminated with every species now either
petitioned, proposed, or listed under the Endangered Species Act for at least
part of the range.
Although considerable work has been done with
many of the salmonids, much of it has focused on traditional fisheries
management issues and on fine scale habitat relationships. I believe that
conservation of many threatened populations will require a broader perspective.
In my view, effective conservation will require a context and strategic guidance
for the conservation and restoration of watershed networks. My goal is to
contribute to the understanding of population dynamics at these scales and to
develop tools and information useful for effectively prioritizing limited
conservation-management resources.
My personal research has focused on larger
patterns in species distributions and the processes relevant to the dynamics and
persistence of populations at watershed and larger scales. I have been
particularly interested in metapopulation processes and in the expression of
life histories as mechanisms potentially stabilizing populations in spatially
and temporally variable environments.
Integrated/Interdisciplinary/Cooperative
Research Programs
1) Decision support for aquatic
ecosystem consideration in fire management planning.
Collaborators: Charlie Luce,
Matthew Dare (RMRS); Paul Hessburg (USFS, Pacific Northwest Research
Station), Ann Black and Carol Miller (USFS, Rocky Mountain Research Station),
Boise National Forest, Sawtooth National Forest.
2) Evaluation of the Tradeoffs between
Native Fish Passage Restoration and Associated Threats from Invasions by
Nonnative Fishes
Collaborators: Jason Dunham (USGS,
Corvallis, OR), Kurt Fausch (Colorado State University, Fort Collins), Michael
Young (USFS, Missoula, MT), Doug Peterson (USFWS, Helena, MT), Brad Shepard, (MDFWP
and Montana State University, Bozeman), Brian Cade, (USGS Fort Collins, CO),
Kate Walker (USFS Region 1, Missoula MT).
3) The effects of wildfire and
ecological context on aquatic biological Diversity.
Collaborators: Daniel Isaak (RMRS Boise),
Jason Dunham (USGS Corvallis, OR), Amanda Rosenberger, (U of A, Fairbanks),
Helen Neville, (Trout Unlimited, Boise ID), Dona Horan, (RMRS Boise), Steve
Railsback, (Arcata, CA), Mark Wipfli, (U of A, Fairbanks).
4) Recovery Implementation Science Team
(RIST) for Pacific Salmon in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Collaborators: NOAA Fisheries, Seattle Wa,
and scientists from throughout the region.
5) The effects of fire and climate
change on stream temperature and the distribution of native fishes.
Collaborators: Charlie Luce (RMRS, Boise),
Daniel Isaak (RMRS, Boise).
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