Application of genomic tools to anadromous fish migration and conservation

Genomic tools are frequently used to identify the source population or even parental ancestors of individual salmon in migratory salmon, steelhead and lamprey populations. Past studies have integrated genetic stock identification and parentage-based tagging approaches to evaluate migration success in the Columbia, Snake and Willamette river systems and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation translocation protocols for steelhead (Weigel et al. 2019). We are also integrating large telemetry datasets, genomic stock identification, environmental modeling and bioenergetic models to predict risk of thermal stress to adult Chinook salmon in the Central Valley of California and Willamette River.

Publications

Keefer, Matthew L., Michael A. Jepson, Tami S. Clabough, et al. 2018. “Sea-to-Sea Survival of Late-Run Adult Steelhead ( Oncorhynchus Mykiss ) from the Columbia and Snake Rivers.” Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 75 (3): 331–41. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0430
Weigel, Dana E., Jennifer R. Adams, Michael A. Jepson, Lisette P. Waits, and Christopher C. Caudill. 2019. “Introgressive Hybridization between Native and Non‐local Steelhead ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) of Hatchery Origin.” Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 29 (2): 292–302. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3028
Weigel, Dana, Ilana Koch, Fred Monzyk, Cameron Sharpe, Shawn Narum, and Christopher C. Caudill. 2019. “Evaluation of a Trap-and-Transport Program for a Threatened Population of Steelhead (Oncorhynchus Mykiss).” Conservation Genetics 20 (5): 1195–99. 19-01200-5″https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-019-01200-5