About the lab

The Salmon Watersheds Lab (SWL) at Simon Fraser University is a large, collaborative aquatic ecology research lab focused on salmon systems in western Canada. The SWL consists of between 12 and 25 staff and students at any given time, collaborating with more than 40 partner organizations and engaging in research across nine different projects, many of which include fieldwork across British Columbia.

Our Mission

To understand the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems, from headwaters to estuaries, and inform their conservation and management, with a primary focus on salmon systems.

A Peek Into Our Work: Science News

A Safe Operating Space for Salmon Watersheds Under Rapid Climate Change

Using a downscaled application of the safe operating space concept, the study provides tangible options for local management to give salmon watersheds the time and space to cope with climate change.

“Managing for climate resilience will not be status quo but will entail strengthened environmental protections, hard decisions, and trade-offs. In some ways, the ideas are quite simple. The science is clear. There is now an urgent need and opportunity to translate this knowledge into on-the-ground action and policies for climate resilience that invest in the well-being of our futures,” says Dr. Moore.

This paper is associated with the Watershed Futures Initiative. Paper coauthors include collaborators from the University of British Columbia, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and other organizations.

A recent study by Dr. Moore and co-authors shows that local management activities can either strengthen or weaken watershed resilience to climate change, affecting both salmon and people.

Linking the small-scale to the large-scale, this paper identifies four different syndromes of the combined impacts of local watershed pressures and climate change. These syndromes impair the ability of salmon and their ecosystem to cope with climate change, highlighting how cumulative harms from land use and climate change are pushing many salmon-bearing watersheds to impoverishment.

Women Making Waves

From discoveries to recognition—see what the women in our lab have been up to lately.

PhD Candidate

Marta Ulaski

Won the J. Frances Allen Award for the top female PhD student from the American Fisheries Society!

Master of Resource Management

Emma Griggs

Emma successfully defended her Master's thesis!

PhD Candidate

Julie Charbonneau

Julie has just published a new study that suggests data may be masking declines in steelhead populations in B.C. Read it here!

News and Updates

October 1, 2025 - New Paper Alert! Dr. Moore and co-authors (four from our lab!) have published a new paper in Fish and Fisheries. Read it here!

September 2, 2025 - New Paper Alert! PhD candidate, Marta Ulaski and coauthors have published a new paper in FACETS. Read it here!

August 25, 2025 - PhD candidate, Marta Ulaski, has won the J. Frances Allen Award for the top female PhD student from the American Fisheries Society! Go Marta!!

August 19, 2025 - Emma Griggs successfully defended her Master's thesis. Amazing work, Emma!!

June 17, 2025- New Paper Alert! Congratulations to Julie Charbonneau for her new paper in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society! Read it here.

June 10, 2025- Check out Dr. Moore's new article in the Vancouver Sun: "Opinion: It's time to fast-track actions to defend B.C.'s lands, waters, fish and wildlife." Read it here!

May 21, 2025 - Grist has published a new article highlighting the work of Dr. Moore, Dr. Pitman, and PhD candidate Britt Milner in the Taku region. Read it here!

May 8, 2025 - New Papers Alert! Our team has recently published papers in Ecology and Marine and Coastal Fisheries. Click the journal titles to check them out or find them under our "Publications" page!

March 7, 2025 - Scroll up and check out Dr. Moore on the Mountain Futures YouTube channel. Dr. Scott Hotaling and Dr. Moore chat about glacier recession and how this may impact salmon in the future.

March 4, 2025 - New paper alert! PhD Candidate Britt Milner has been published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences! Read the paper here!

Jan 31, 2025 - We now have a Bluesky account! Follow us @salmonscience.bsky.social!

Jan 24, 2025 - New Paper Alert! Our latest research has been published in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms! Read the paper here.

Dec 18, 2024 - Dr. Jonathan Moore and Master's student Christian Carson were featured on the podcast Your Forest discussing how salmon shape ecosystems and how forestry impacts salmon. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Nov 26, 2024 - We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow or equivalent in applied genomics to join our lab in 2025. Click here for more information!

Nov 6, 2024 - Wendy Fleming successfully defended her Master's thesis. Amazing work, Wendy!

Oct 8, 2024 - We are recruiting up to two new graduate students to join our lab in 2025! Click here for more information.

Oct 7, 2024 - Welcome to our new Lab Manager, Amaris Hackney!

Sept 14, 2024 - Check out our latest video on YouTube about Jon’s recent trip to the Arctic with scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks who are studying beaver expansion into the Arctic region. Watch it here.

August 2nd, 2024 - Curious about how salmon navigate the changing world? Recently, Dr. Jonathan Moore spoke with the Wild Salmon Center to discuss the adaptations and challenges salmon face today. Click here to read what he had to say: https://wildsalmoncenter.org/2024/07/16/salmon-futures-a-conversation-with-dr-jonathan-moore/

July 9, 2024 - We are seeking our next Lab Manager! Do you or someone you know have great organizational skills, an interest in project management, and want to be part of an awesome team? Check out the posting here.

June 14, 2024 - Congratulations to Jonathan Moore and Kara Pitman for their contribution to the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of The Osprey: The International Journal of Salmon and Steelhead Conservation. Their article on page 10 discusses the intricate relationship between gold mining, glacial changes, and the future of salmon populations. Interested in reading the issue? Read or download the PDF here.

May 15, 2024 - New Paper Alert! Our latest research has been published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence. Read the paper here.

May 2, 2024 - New paper alert! Congrats to lab members Sara Cannon, Jonathan Moore, Emma Griggs and Nigel Sainsbury for their new paper Taking care of knowledge, taking care of salmon: towards Indigenous data sovereignty in an era of climate change and cumulative effects. Read the paper here.

March 7, 2024 - Jonathan Moore and Marta Ulaski gave talks at the 9th World Fisheries Congress!

Feb 14, 2024 - Kate McGivney successfully defended her Master's thesis. Congratulations Kate!

Feb 12, 2024 - Kirsten Bradford successfully defended her Master's thesis. Amazing work, Kirsten!

Feb 8, 2024 - Jonathan Moore and Phoebe Gross gave talks at the Estuary Resilience Celebration Symposium hosted by the Nature Trust of BC and Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Feb 3, 2024 - Lab members Phoebe Gross and Wendy Fleming both did an awesome job delivering short talks at the IDEAS 2024 symposium.

Jan 26, 2024 - We're on Instagram! Follow @SalmonWatershedsScience for awesome updates and stunning photos! 📸🐟

Jan 11, 2024 - Congratulations to Postdoc Mike Price for his new paper published in Global Change Biology! Read the paper here.

New research alert! 🚨🗣

A very (!!) recent study by Jon and co-authors shows that local management activities can either strengthen or weaken watershed resilience to climate change, affecting both salmon and people.

Linking the small-scale to the large-scale, this paper identifies four different syndromes of the combined impacts of local watershed pressures and climate change. These syndromes impair the ability of salmon and their ecosystem to cope with climate change, highlighting how cumulative harms from land use and climate change are pushing many salmon-bearing watersheds to impoverishment.

Using a downscaled application of the safe operating space concept, the study provides tangible options for local management to give salmon watersheds the time and space to cope with climate change.

“Managing for climate resilience will not be status quo but will entail strengthened environmental protections, hard decisions, and trade-offs. In some ways, the ideas are quite simple. The science is clear. There is now an urgent need and opportunity to translate this knowledge into on-the-ground action and policies for climate resilience that invest in the well-being of our futures,” says Jon.

This paper is associated with the Watershed Futures Initiative. Paper coauthors include collaborators from the University of British Columbia, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and other organizations.

Link in bio for the whole thing!

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#newpaper #newpublication #research #cumulativeeffects #salmon #policy #climatechange #climateresilience #localmanagement #environment

This year was a huge year for pink returns - folks from our lab have been encountering pinks left and right during fieldwork this fall 💅🐟

Bonus points if you can identify all of the species in the second video!

Photos/videos taken by Jon Moore and Ben Zdasiuk.

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#pinks #fisheries #salmon #pinksalmon #returns #research #biology

Inspiring landscapes, great people, and ... salmon!

Field posts as part of the Taku Salmon Resilience Initiative 🐟⛰️

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#salmon #research #fieldwork #taku #resilience #initiative #inspiring #fisheries

Looking for ET or looking for fish?

With all of our temperature tags now out in the wild, our Nicola field teams are busy trying to track and retrieve these tags. These tags have been put on adult Chinook in the watershed, and record the stream temperatures that these fish experience as they migrate to their spawning grounds.

Floating, walking, driving, and (very occasionally) helicoptering around the watershed, SWL lab members use the antennae pictured to pick up on the “pings” that these tags emit. After that, it’s up to the snorkeller to find exactly where the tag is. It’s like geocaching at level 1000!

If you happen to be in the Nicola watershed and stumble across a tag, please reach out to NicolaSalmonTag@gmail.com for a reward and our eternal gratitude 🧚🐟🫵🙏

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#antennae #fishtracking #nicola #pings #telemetry #radiotags #reward

Pacific salmon are facing unprecedented pressures from a multitude of stressors - industrial forestry, mining, urban development, aquaculture, and climate change - all regulated under separate laws that rarely account for their combined impacts.

A new study published in FACETS by SWL PhD student Marta Ulaski and coauthors delves deeper into this issue, revealing how existing regulations are enabling incremental harm to salmon ecosystems without enforceable limits or coordinated oversight.

Synthesizing ecological science and policy analysis, the authors propose a cumulative effects management cycle that links monitoring, assessment, and governance, and identify five key opportunities for reform.

Amidst growing concern over legislation like federal Bill C-5 and provincial Bills 14 and 15 that fast track projects, this study highlights an urgent need for systemic reform in our policies to ensure sustainable and equitable stewardship of salmon-bearing watersheds.   This study was the result of a collaborative project involving 14 experts in science and policy from institutions that included Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, West Environmental Law, Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance and Polis Project of Ecological Governance of the University of Victoria as part of the Watershed Futures Initiative.

Head over to the link in our bio to read the whole thing!

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#fisheries #newpaper #fishscience #cumulativeeffects #watersheds #policy #waterpolicy #britishcolumbia #canada #salmon #fisheriespolicy #environmentalpolicy #management

Big news! Marta Ulaski, SWL PhD student and power stance extraordinaire, just won the J Frances Allen Scholarship Award from @americanfisheries 🥳🥹

The J Frances Allen Scholarship was established in 1986 to honour pioneering women in fisheries. We are super proud of her, and are feeling extra lucky to get to work with such incredible folks in the lab 🥰🐟

Marta’s current work focuses on cumulative effects in salmon watersheds to inform place-based management strategies. Read more about her work on her website at martaulaski.com

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#fisheriesscience #womeninstem #scholarship #award #americanfisheriessociety #afs

Some recent photos from fieldwork in and around the Taku watershed 🐻🐺🐟

During this trip, Britt and Jon deployed camera traps on three watersheds experiencing recent glacier retreat.

This was done to better understand how wildlife use recently deglaciated floodplains - especially in response to salmon that are starting to use these areas as well (glacier retreat = new potential habitat for salmon). Examples of wildlife that they are expecting to find are wolves, grizzly bears, and moose!

This work is part of Britt’s PhD investigating emerging habitat due to glacier retreat, and how this will impact the development of and interactions between salmonids and floodplain wildlife communities.

Her work is a part of the Salmon Resilience Initiative, a larger project looking to inform land use planning and policy in a way that furthers climate change resiliency within the Taku River watershed and its salmon.

This initiative is led by the Taku River Tlingit First Nation in collaboration with SFU, University of Montana, and the University of Washington.

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#glaciers #melt #newhabitat #salmon #wildlife #bears #moose #wolves #grizzlies

Our field crew is back out in Merritt this year for another round of snorkel surveys in the Nicola watershed! With water temperatures in the last few weeks ranging between 14 and 27 degrees celsius, it’s been eye-opening to see how fish are using different parts of the watershed to manage the heat.

1.+ 2. A small coldwater inflow creates a temperature refuge available to juvenile salmon on the Coldwater, a tributary of the Nicola (aptly named…). Here, hundreds of juvenile salmon, trout and whitefish are crowded in an area that is 6 degrees colder than the surrounding river.

3. If you look closely, you can see a pod of Chinook holding in a temperature refuge on the mainstem of the Nicola River. There is a small spring-fed creek above this area that pulses cold water into where the fish are - an important place where salmon can rest before they continue upriver to spawn.

4. A few Chinook pretending to be trout on the Spius River, which flows into the Nicola.

5. A young research assistant/soon to be Masters student (👀) covers his face to escape the heat of the interior sun… but there is no refuge for him on the river. Yet, he perseveres on with the possibility of respite in the form of a cold beverage post fieldwork…

*No staff harmed in the taking of these photos or during fieldwork 🤠😇

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#salmon #temperature #refugia #climatechange #research #nicolavalley #nicolariver #nicola #spius #coldwater

The salmon are coming! It is an exciting time of year as salmon start to show up in streams and fisheries across BC. But how does one keep up with what’s happening?!

One source of information for Fraser River sockeye and pink salmon is the @pacificsalmoncommission, which issues weekly reports during the Fraser River commercial salmon fishing season.

This year, they are forecasting 17-39 million (best estimate = 27 million) pink salmon for the Fraser - some of the highest on record! The forecasted return of sockeye is a more modest 1.4-6.4 million (best estimate = 3 million). It can be noted that these forecasts have a lot of uncertainty due to the unpredictable ups and downs of marine survival. The PSC updates these numbers as salmon are counted and caught throughout the season 🐟📊

Head over to the link in our bio to take a look!

Photos taken by @davidherasimtschuk and @freshwatersillustrated.

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#fisheries #data #pacificsalmoncommission #fraserriver #sockeye #pink #resource

Last week, SWL lab members were out in the field setting up antenna stations and tagging Chinook for a research project investigating the thermal experience of adult Chinook salmon in the Nicola watershed. This project is in collaboration with DFO, and will be focusing in particular on thermal refugia use 🌡️🐟

The tags shown in these images allow us to see where these fish travel within the watershed, and what stream temperatures they have been experiencing. The tags will emit “pings” as fish travel past antenna stations, and record temperature data in intervals.

Throughout the next few months, SWL folks will be out in the Nicola watershed tagging more Chinook and tracking them throughout the watershed - we’re excited to see what we find!

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#nicola #thermal #temperature #refugia #salmon #chinook #fishresearch

In her recently published paper, SWL PhD student Julie Charbonneau has uncovered evidence that angler catch rates may stay high even as steelhead populations decline in British Columbia, a phenomenon know as hyperstability.

In recreational fisheries, angler catch data serve as an important indicator of fish stock health and status, especially in areas where systematic monitoring programs are lacking.

The study analyzed data from steelhead anglers in 14 streams across the Province, revealing that catch-per-unit-effort data may significantly overestimate steelhead abundance, creating a dangerous “illusion of plenty”.

Head over to the link in our bio to read the paper! 🎣🤓

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#steelhead #angler #fisheriesmanagement #science #research #conservation #freshwater #salmon #hyperstability

A little compilation of some of the sights during and in between fieldwork ✨🐟

We are feeling extremely grateful for all of the places and people that we are able to visit and work with. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Looking forward to the rest of the field season 🌱🫶

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#fishyfriends #fieldwork #salmon #fisheries

The evolution of a net carrying method… and a field team.

Our lab’s estuary fieldwork team is now back in Vancouver, and would like to share some photos as a final goodbye to their field season. One of these photos is the latest estuary album cover 😱🤯

Some context - for the past 4 field seasons, our estuary field team has created an album cover to commemorate the field season, often executing an incredible artistic vision. This year, we thought to create an ode to the bane(s) of our existence - the pole seine net, and the field team’s fearless (feudal) leader, PhD student Phoebe.

Throughout the years of the estuary fieldwork program, we’ve gone through several iterations of carrying our pole seine net through rugged estuary terrain (as seen in the slides). We have also had an ongoing joke where Phoebe rules with an iron fist (she doesn’t, but we just like to make fun of her) - and hence, the final form for the seine net and the estuary album cover has been manifested 🙏😎

Please take your time and enjoy these photos - patent incoming for the seine net rig.

*No PhD students were harmed in these images.

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#fieldwork #funny #meme #scienceisfun #salmon #estuaries #inseinity #spawningdead

As Canada and BC push to fast track the development of natural resources in the name of national security, a recent op-ed by Jon in @thevancouversun outlines opportunities to also fast-track protections of lands and waters for wildlife, fish, and people.

Recently the BC government narrowly passed Bills 14 and 15. These bills have been controversial and could be used to expedite resource projects with limited consultation and environmental oversight. Given this push and existing policies for natural resource development, there are also concrete actions that the Province could take to fast-track environmental safeguards.

Head over to the link in our bio to see his Op-Ed 🌱🔍

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#environment #policy #opinion #vancouversun #news #province #government

Meet our estuary field team!

Phoebe, Carter, Lili, and Kei are currently out in the field looking juvenile salmon in estuaries across Vancouver Island and Bella Coola area. While this fieldwork has been for Phoebe’s PhD research for the past few years, we are excited to share that Lili, an incoming PhD student, will be taking this project on next year as Phoebe focuses on analysis.

In their free time between seines, this field team enjoys cooking meals together (as in Carter and Kei cook, Lili and Phoebe judge, enjoy, and do dishes), running (but only under 2km unless it is Lili who enjoys longer distances), and suffering through Carter’s country playlists 🥰😂😇

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#fieldteam #salmonresearch #fisheries #fieldwork

Happy (belated) Wild Salmon Day! 😅❣️🐟 Salmon are so incredibly important - healthy salmon mean healthy ecosystems and communities.

We’re super grateful to be able to study salmon and their watersheds here at our lab, and be apart of the collaborative efforts working towards salmon for all.

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#wildsalmonday #research #fisheries

🚨🗣️ This week, we are spotlighting two new papers from lab alumni!

A big congrats is in order for Dan Scurfield and Will Atlas who recently had their papers published. Danny is our lab’s former Fieldwork Coordinator - his paper focuses on work that he did with our Estuary Resilience team in the Salmon River estuary. His work illustrated how estuarine fishes “surf” the tide, making use of transiently aquatic habitats throughout the estuary.

Will is a former PhD student with the lab, and current research scientist at the @wildsalmoncenter. His recent paper integrates habitat metrics into a traditional spawner-recruit model to estimate stock status and benchmarks for data-limited Sockeye populations across the North and Central Coasts of BC.

🌱🤓 Find the links to these papers in our bio - take a read through!

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#newpaper #researchpaper #research #salmon #bc #estuaries

Us trying to convince the fish to be our friends… 🫠🤓

Get a look at what seining could look like from a fish’s POV! Some clips taken by our estuary field team in the last few weeks - there’s been a lot of coho (and chum!) in the estuaries lately 🐣🐟

Coho juveniles have complex life history patterns, and often migrate between rivers and estuaries before eventually entering the ocean - they usually spend 1-2 years in the estuary/river before finally taking the leap!

Can you guess which videos are of the coho, and which are of the chum? 🕵️

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#coho #chum #fry #estuary #deeznets #fishresearch #seine #inseine #seinesallday #fisheries #research #bc

Last week, our lab had our annual lab retreat (emphasis on the treat in reTREAT - because it’s such a treat to get to hang out with these folks) 🥹✨

This time together allowed us to form connections with one another, work on collaborative science, and brainstorm ways that we can translate our science into impactful and tangible changes. Like everything else, our projects are all connected in many ways, and our science is better together!

We also got to work on some soccer skills (a work in progress), and charade skills (impeccable) around the campfire. We are probably a little biased, but we are super grateful for our lil lab community 💕🐟

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#labretreat #salmon #science #collaboration #brainstorming

Different day, seine sh*t 🫠😂

A timelapse showing a pole seine set by one of our field teams led by SWL PhD student Phoebe! Phoebe’s research focuses on juvenile salmonid use of estuaries, and so the fieldwork for her research involves seine after seine looking for juvenile salmon in estuaries across Vancouver Island and Bella Coola. We call it inseinity!

Once the seine is pulled up, fish are put into buckets with aerators, where they are measured and identified.

This year, having started in early April, they have been seeing a lot of chum and are now seeing more coho!

Footage taken by Erica Lee 📸❣️

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#seine #seineeveryday #seinetilyoudrop #goinginseine #justkidding

Recently, a few of our co-advised MSc students, Jamie and Katrina, headed to the North Thompson to do some sampling in wetlands! Jamie’s research focuses on off-channel habitat and restoration potential in the Deadman, and Katrina’s will be focusing on juvenile use of wetland habitat.

*No nets used or froggies harmed in the first pic 😘🐸

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#wetland #norththompson #fieldwork #salmon #juvenile

Earlier this month, folks from our lab got to participate in a 4WD operations course with @arc_offroad_training 🚘🏔️

The course was fun and informative, and gave students and staff more confidence in driving our beloved lab truck heading into a busy field season.

We’re feeling super grateful to @arc_offroad_training and our lovely instructors, Kim and Mike 🫶😄

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#hotwheels #truck #vroom #driving

How does the saying go? Is it science imitates art? 🤭🖼️

A little while ago, we were lucky enough to able to commission the talented @monikaloevenmark_art to create a design for us based on some of the work that our lab does.

Using watercolour paints, she’s done an incredible job of encapsulating the dynamic and multidimensional salmon systems that we work with. It is so exciting and cool to see science and art in action together!

We are simply so excited about the final product, and look forward to sharing this new design with folks moving forward☺️🐟

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#art #science #salmon #lab #fish #sciencecommunication #scienceart

It’s been a busy few weeks for the lab! Last week, a handful of SWL lab folks attended the American Fisheries Society Washington-British Columbia Chapter conference. This conference was a wonderful opportunity for lab members to share their work, as well connect with and be inspired by the work of many others in our field.

Thank you @americanfisheries and @afs.wabc for putting on an excellent event 🐟🤓🌱

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#conference #fish #afs #washington #britishcolumbia

Yesterday, a few of our lab mates presented at IDEAS - the Inter-Departmental Ecology of Aquatic Species Symposium (it’s a mouthful!) at SFU. This annual symposium is an amazing way for folks in the Biology and Resource and Environmental Management (REM) departments to share their work with their colleagues, mentors, and peers.

A big shoutout to the IDEAS organizing committee (including our very own Emma Griggs and Hutton Noth) for putting on yet another fantastic event! As well, we’d like to congratulate our undergraduate research assistant Carter Tsui for winning People’s Choice with his talk about his honours thesis.

Last but not least, a shameless plug - Carter did part of his work on the Xwésam (Salmon) River on the island. Right now, @naturetrustbc must raise $294,000 by April 9th to conserve more than 100 acres of floodplain forest along this river - and they are looking for folks to donate! On behalf of Carter and our lab, please consider heading over to the link in our bio to find out more and donate 🏞️❣️🗣️

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#salmon #presentation #symposium #simonfraseruniversity #talk #estuary #seastars #temperature #policy

NEW PAPER ALERT! 🤩🗣️

Before her PhD research brought her to study glacier retreat in northern watersheds, Britt spent another life (read: Masters) focusing on juvenile coho use of wetlands in the North Thompson. Whether she encountered more bugs or fish in her Masters we’ll never know (note the Buff and hat as PPE), but what we do know is that we are super proud of her paper being published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences!

Click on the link on our bio to read the full thing 🫶🌱

#salmonresearch #paper #published #newpaper #environment #wetlands #norththompson

✨ Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! ✨ We may be a little biased, but we’re lucky to have some of the most brilliant and inspiring women in our lab! Here’s to breaking barriers, pushing boundaries, and shaping the future of science. Keep shining! 💫

#WomenInScience #GirlsInScience #InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience #STEM #EmpowerWomen

New Paper Alert! 👀

A study published by Salmon Watersheds Lab members in collaboration with, @umontana Flathead Lake Biological Station and Taku River Tlingit First Nation examines the rapid transformation of floodplain ecosystems driven by glacier retreat.

Check out the link in our bio to read the full paper!

#glacier #taku #salmon #transformation #floodsplain #ecosystems

✨Lab work highlight ✨

Cumulative effects are the combined impacts of many different human activities on the lands and waters that salmon call home. Also known as “death by a thousand cuts,” there is an urgent need to improve the science and governance of cumulative effects in BC.

The Watershed Futures Initiative (WFI) is a collaborative initiative that undertakes and coordinates research on cumulative effects in British Columbia’s salmon-bearing watersheds, and initiates dialogue among researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers.

The WFI team includes our fearless fish leader Dr. Jonathan Moore (project lead), Dr. Tara Martin (project co-lead, UBC), Dr. Nigel Sainsbury (project director), Trish Hall (project coordinator, SFU), a diverse expert advisory team, and other personnel. Several graduate students (including a few from our lab!) are also doing some great work within WFI as well 🥰🐟

The goals of WFI are community connection, science & understanding, and informing management.

If you want to follow the work of WFI, check out their Instagram channel @watershedfuturesinitiative!

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#cumulativeeffects #fisheries #research #sciencecommunication #collaborative #salmon #watersheds

Dr. Moore and Master's student Christian Carson recently joined the Your Forest podcast to explore how forestry practices impact salmon habitats, the crucial role of riparian zones, and strategies for balancing economic growth with ecological sustainability. 🎧 Tune in now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher! Thank you, @yourforestpodcast, for having us!

#Forestry #SalmonConservation #SustainableDevelopment #Ecology #Riparianzones

In early December, our lab had the honour of hosting a 2 day workshop focused on the Taku Salmon Resilience Initiative which aims to advance the ecological and cultural resilience of the watershed, particularly in light of climate change and other pressures. There were over 20 participants, including collaborators and representatives from Taku River Tlingit (TRT), University of Washington (@uofwa), SFU (@simonfraseru), and Round River (@round.river). This year was our third year of coming together for this workshop, and it has been exciting and meaningful to continue to strengthen connections and collaborations in this transboundary watershed.

These are some photos taken from the workshop, which included a game of stick gambling!

Looking forward to more things like this in the new year! ☺️🎊🐟🏔️

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#workshop #taku #salmon #resilience #salmonconservation

Happy holidays from our lab to you! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and joyous fishy year ahead 🎊🫶

Photo taken from a recent excursion some of our lab folks went on to view some spawning fish!

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#fishmas #fisholidays

The SWL team was honoured to get a chance to participate in the Salmon Recovery and Resilience meeting last week. Jon got a chance to share some of our research and their implications in an opening keynote. As a part of @watershedfuturesinitiative, we also organized a break out session to discuss the challenging issue of cumulative effects. While cumulative harms come from a variety of activities occurring over time and space, this conversation helped illuminate some promising paths forward 💫🐟

Huge thanks to #PSF and #FNFC for organizing this amazing gathering of practitioners, experts, and leaders!

Looking for a post-doc!

SWL is seeking to hire a post-doc for a project identifying genomic markers for ecotype and run-timing of sockeye salmon in the North and Central Coast of BC.

Applicants will be reviewed starting December 20 2024, but we will consider applicants on a rolling basis. Head over to our website or the link in our bio to learn more 💫🐟

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#salmonwatershedsscience #environmentaljobs #researchjobs #salmon #jobposting

Good news alert!🚨🗣️

“Salmon are on the frontlines of climate change”

Located in the upper Pitt River, the Red Slough recently became the site of one of the largest ✨completed✨ salmon restoration projects in Western Canada. Led by Katzie First Nation and BC Parks, Global News recently ran a segment about this, with Jon sharing a few words about the significance of this project.

Check out the link in our bio to see the full story!

A big thank you to Neetu Garcha and the Global News team for having us.
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#resilientsalmon #goodnews #climatechange #restoration #salmon

A big big congratulations to Wendy Fleming, who successfully defended her Masters thesis: Linking habitat to spatial and temporal variability in individual energetic condition: towards assessing freshwater habitat quality for Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)🧬🐟

Co-advised by both Jon and Dr. Doug Braun with DFO, Wendy’s research explores important links between juvenile coho physiology and habitat, particularly around the Thompson watershed.

Whooooo go Wendy! 🎉🥰

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#coho #research #physiology #juvenile #salmon #salmonwatershedsscience

Come on out! On Dec. 3-4, a few folks from our lab will be taking part in the BC Salmon Recovery and Resilience Conference hosted by the Pacific Salmon Foundation. In particular, Jon will be delivering a talk as one of the keynote speakers, and will be joined by Emma Griggs and Marta Ulaski from our lab to organize a session - “Paths Out of a World of Cumulative Effects.”

This event will be bringing together folks in the salmon community to share knowledge, build connections, and collaborate on key salmon recovery issues. Please feel free join us if you are able to - registrations close in a week! ✨🐟

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#salmonrecovery #BCsalmonconference

Every year (for the last 3 years) the estuary field crew has created a visual masterpiece in the form of an album cover. This year, they took inspiration from Beyoncé’s iconic “Cowboy Carter” album - featuring SWL research assistant @carter.tsui as said cowboy.

Swipe through to take a walk down some SWL Hall of Famers, we’re looking forward to outdoing ourselves (if possible) next summer 🤠🐟

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#beyonce #fish #album #music #humour #salmon #fieldwork #fieldfun #britishcolumbia #slay

Aaaaaand that’s a wrap on our field season (and we have the fish edit to prove it)! Our Nicola crew wrapped up the last of the fall snorkel surveys at the end of October - marking the end of a busy but rewarding field season for the lab. A tremendous thank you to everyone who helped us out, you make it all possible! Now onto some data analysis, writing, and general pining for the field season 🥰🐟👩‍💻📉

Video by @stazook, more fieldwork highlights to come soon!

P.S. Watch with the sound on for max viewing pleasure…

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#salmonwatershedsscience #snorkelling #fish #research #pacificsalmon #climate #temperature #britishcolumbia

Today is a bittersweet day for the Salmon Watersheds Lab 🥲🐟

Our beloved lab manager Kim had her last day of work with us as she leaves to start her motherhood journey (!!)

She has been an incredible part of the team - she leads with kindness, empathy, and an excellent sense of humour in everything that she does. She is a ray of sunshine in our office, and we will miss her very dearly!

Thank you for everything Kim, we can’t wait to meet your little fry ❣️🐣

Earlier this fall, a few members of the lab went out to Honolulu, Hawaii for the national American Fisheries Society conference 🌺☀️

Emma, Julie, Spencer, Phoebe, and Mike came back a bit more tanned and a lot more inspired with the opportunity to share their work and learn more about all of the other great work happening in the fish world!
🐟🌎❣️

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#fisheries #conference #hawaii #honolulu #salmon #fish #meeting #americanfisheriessociety

We are seeking two motivated graduate students to join our team for Fall 2025 to work on exciting research projects!
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More information about the positions and research projects can be found on our website.

We could honestly watch this all day! Mesmerizing to watch salmon do their dance.

Also, as fish nerds, there is some interesting behaviour going on. What do you think is happening in this clip?

Clip taken in the Taaltsux̱éi (Tulsequah) River in the Taku Watershed by Jon Moore.

#Pacificsalmon #takuriverwatershed #climatechange #glaciallake #aquaticecology #salmonwatershedsscience

Sometimes she catches juvenile fish, sometimes she doesn’t catch juvenile fish… either way, the Tulsequah provides! ✨🐟

Britt and Jon are now back from the fieldwork, and here are a few highlights from them to wrap up their time up in the Taku watershed:

1. This is the first known recorded fish on Tulsequah Proglacial Lake - a Dolly Varden! The lake is super cold (we measured its temperature at 0.9 degrees Celsius) and it is about 220 metres deep. Finding this fish is significant, as it is a sign that this lake will be important fish habitat as the glacier continues to retreat.

2. While trying to capture juvenile salmon we accidentally caught a very beautiful adult coho on the Tulsequah River! The Tulsequah provides habitat for juvenile and adult salmon (as shown in the video!), in addition to many other awesome species like Dolly Varden, sculpin, and whitefish.

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#takuriver #takurivertlingitterritory #research #fisheries #glacier #science

FISH VIDEO ALERT 🚨🗣️

Ever wonder how cold water fish deal with high summer temperatures? This underwater footage was taken by the Nicola field crew during summer snorkel surveys in July - during which stream temperatures were between 11 and 26 degrees celsius (a huge thermal gradient!). During these periods, cold water fish like bull trout, mountain whitefish, and spring Chinook will hone in on refuges where the right temperature, flow, and food resources are, and use these spots to escape the inhospitable heat.

Bonus points if folks can ID the fish in these videos!

The Nicola field crew will be heading out this Friday for the next round of fall sampling - stay tuned for more fishy videos ✨fall edition✨ 🍂

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#salmon #research #salmonresearch #water #snorkel #snorkelsurveys #conservation #nicola #fieldwork

Reporting to you live from the field! 🗣️🐟🤓

PhD student Britt Milner gives us a sneak peek into her and Jon’s work in the Taku watershed, which spans the BC-Alaska border. In this video, she shows us the Tulsequah glacier which is located within the Taku. She shows us how the glacier is rapidly changing - opening up new habitat for salmon.

Britt’s work investigates the timing and use of emerging habitats by salmon in complex glacial watersheds. Her work builds on previous research by other SWL folks (such as our fantastic spatial analyst, Kara Pitman) and their collaborators.

🔎📚 A resource to learn more about this topic is a paper (led by Kara!)“Glacier retreat creating new Pacific salmon habitat in western North America” (2021).
Find it here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26897-2

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#salmon #glaciers #taku #tulsequah #glaciermelt #habitat #britishcolumbia #alaska #salmonscience #fieldwork

Jon recently had the opportunity to join a team of scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks on a pack raft expedition in the western Arctic to study the impacts of climate change on northern rivers.

As the Arctic warms due to climate change, permafrost is melting, and sea ice is retreating, causing rapid changes in these fragile watersheds. Led by Dr. Ken Tape, the team discovered that beavers are moving north, dramatically reshaping aquatic ecosystems.

Over a multi-day float trip, they collected data to understand these shifts and even encountered a few Arctic salmon, also moving north as the climate changes.

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#ClimateChange #ArcticScience #ArcticEcosystems #BeaverBehavior #SalmonMigration #AquaticEcology #FieldResearch #Permafrost #salmonwatersheds

Earlier this month, SWL lab folks finished up a successful round of summer snorkel surveys in the Nicola watershed. This work was for PhD student Ben Zdasiuk’s project, which looks at the impact of cumulative effects on fish communities in this watershed. In particular, this work focuses on rising stream temperatures as a key factor.

Our lab has maintained an ongoing temperature monitoring program in this system since 2017, with ongoing guidance from the Nicola Research Collaborative and various collaborators throughout the watershed. Snorkel surveys allow us to expand on this data to investigate relationships between fish habitat occupancy and stream temperatures.

Pictured here are some snapshots from fieldwork - featuring fishy friends, two legged friends, and some four legged friends too! A big, big thank you to everyone who has helped out with this work. ❣️🐟

Stay tuned for some cool underwater snorkel footage!

Pictures taken by Ben Zdasiuk, Kei Poon, Nicole Yang, and Christian Carson.

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#salmonwatershedslab #salmon #conservation #environment #nicola #snorkel #snorkelsurvey #juvenilesalmon #fieldwork #bcsalmon #fishing #salmonresearch #fisheriesscience #fisheriesmanagement #cumulativeeffects

Some videos taken by Salmon Watersheds Lab members back in June. These videos show juvenile coho in streams in and around Squamish, Bella Coola, and Fair Harbour 🥹❣️🐟🐣

Why coho? Some features that set coho fry apart are…
- Sickle-shaped anal fins
- White/black leading edges on anal fins
- Thin, even parr marks across lateral line

Are there any other ways you identify coho and other juvenile salmonids? Give us your #salmonfacts!

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#salmonwatershedslab #salmon #conservation #environment #coho #juvenilesalmon #fieldwork #bcsalmon #fishing #salmonresearch #fisheriesscience #fisheriesmanagement

Salmon Futures: A Conversation with Dr. Jonathan Moore

Curious about how salmon are navigating a changing world? Recently, Dr. Jonathan Moore spoke with the Wild Salmon Center to discuss the adaptations and challenges salmon face today.

Click on the link in our link tree to read the full article!

“Remember that salmon evolved and adapted over millions of years in landscapes and watersheds that were always changing. Salmon are renowned for finding their way back home. But they’re also great at finding new habitats. Usually, a small percent of a run strays so they return to somewhere other than their home spawning grounds. Scientists think that straying is an evolutionary strategy—so that salmon don’t literally put all their eggs in one basket. This combination of homing and straying is really powerful. Homing means that over time salmon can fine-tune their life histories and biology through local adaptation. And straying means that salmon can also find new landscapes. They can tap into those future promises.“

Photo credit: @julescharbonneau1

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#salmonwatershedslab #salmon #bcsalmon #salmonresearch

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@salmonwatershedsscience

Ecology & Conservation of Aquatic Systems

Jonathan Moore and Team

About the lab

Our Mission

To understand the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems, from headwaters to estuaries, and inform their conservation and management, with a primary focus on salmon systems.

A Safe Operating Space for Salmon Watersheds Under Rapid Climate Change

From discoveries to recognition—see what the women in our lab have been up to lately.

Follow us on Instagram

Ecology & Conservation of Aquatic Systems

Jonathan Moore and Team

About the lab

Our Mission

To understand the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems, from headwaters to estuaries, and inform their conservation and management, with a primary focus on salmon systems.

A Safe Operating Space for Salmon Watersheds Under Rapid Climate Change

From discoveries to recognition—see what the women in our lab have been up to lately.

​

Follow us on Instagram