Cumulative effects of multiple stressors in salmon watersheds.

 

I am interested in research that informs the effective management of fishes and the watersheds they occupy. My undergraduate research quantified temporal and spatial variation of benthic macroinvertebrate communities associated with habitats occupied by westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi). My master’s thesis challenged the “bigger is better” hypothesis, often assumed in evolutionary ecology, by showing that natural selection on body size can vary for juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) depending on their age at migration. I also used a 40-year reconstructed time series of juvenile salmon body size to quantify the effects of temperature and density on size and to predict future outcomes under varying climate scenarios. As a research scientist, I evaluated management goals for White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and provided evidence for an alternative management objective that was biologically meaningful. I also assessed a novel method for monitoring adult White Sturgeon abundance that would increase the precision and accuracy of population estimates.

 

For my PhD thesis, I will continue to work at the interface of applied research, conservation, and management. I aim to understand the risks of global change (i.e., anthropogenic activities, effects of climate change) to Pacific salmon and ultimately inform effective management of the watersheds that they occupy.

​

View more of Marta's work on her website.

 

Or contact her via email: ulaskimarta [at] gmail.com