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SALMON WATERSHEDS LAB
Ecology & Conservation of Aquatic Systems
Jonathan Moore and Team
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
Canada is losing track of its wild salmon — just when we need that knowledge most.
A new article by Micheal Price and Jonathan Moore has just been published in The Conservation. They discuss how Canada is loosing track of its wild Pacific salmon at the worst possible time, just as climate change and industrial development put growing pressure on their survival.
Read the full article here.
Opinion: Who gets to catch the last salmon?
A new op-ed piece by Jonathan Moore was recently published in the Vancouver Sun. He explains how salmon-reliant people should unite and fight for salmon and salmon habitats. If we have to ask who can catch the remaining salmon, we have failed.
New paper alert! Range-wide life history diversity and climate exposure in adult Chinook salmon.
This paper compiled timing of upstream migration by adult Chinook salmon, from the Central Valley of California to Alaska. What she found was really cool. . In northern latitudes, Chinook migrate during the summer, but they have more run-timing diversity as you go south. However, hot waters during the summer at the southern extent appear to have pressured salmon to start their migration either before or after the hot waters--it looks like a "zipper". We hypothesize that further climate change will pull this "zipper" farther north. BC Chinook are right at this point of unzipping, where we should expect the most pressure for run-timing to evolve.
To read the full paper, click here
Women Making Waves
News and Updates
March 26, 2026 - New Paper Alert! Previous lab member Anna Potapova and co-authors have published a paper in ECOSPHERE. Read it here!
February 5, 2026- Postdoc Spencer Dakin Kuiper recently published his paper on how environmental pressures add up across the landscape and how different landscapes can be grouped by these pressures. Check it out here!
January 14, 2026 -We are recruiting a field assistant (NSERC or VPRI) USRA for summer 2026. Click here for more info!
December 10, 2025 -Lab member, Julie Charbonneau, successfully defended her PhD thesis! We are so proud of you, Dr. Charbonneau!
November 7, 2025 -New Paper Alert! Previous lab members, Kirsten Bradford, and co-authors have just published a new paper in FACETS. Read it here!
October 7, 2025 -Check out our Julie Charbonneau on the Doc Talks Fishing podcast, episode #44. Julie explains how high angler catch rates can hide serious population declines.
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.