Research Projects
Current Projects
Water resources in a changing climate: Ecological Change in the Salmon Basin of central Idaho. This project is part of a broad, statewide program involving over 30 scientists. Principal collaborators include Drs. Ben Crosby, Joe Wheaton, Bruce Finney & Wayne Minshall (Idaho State University), Jen Pierce & Venkataramana Sridhar (Boise State University), Brian Kennedy, Elowyn Yager, Alex Fremier & Von Walden (U Idaho), and Dr. Emma Rosi-Marshall (Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies). Funded by the National Science Foundation-EPSCoR Program.
Terrestrial effects of an aquatic invader: Does regional context change the impact of fish invasion on energy flow to riparian predators? Graduate Student: Joe Benjamin. Collaborators: Drs. Kurt Fausch and Fabio Lepori (Colorado State University). Funded by the National Science Foundation, Ecology Program.
Contributions of marine-derived nutrients via salmon carcasses to aquatic and terrestrial productivity in the Snake River basin, Idaho. Collaborators: Drs. Amy Marcarelli (postdoc), Scott Collins (graduate student), Mark Wipfli (U. Alaska-Fairbanks), Katy Kavanagh (U. Idaho), Charlie Robbins & Laura Felicetti (Washington State U.), Gregg Servheen & Lance Hebden (Idaho Fish and Game), and Jim Chandler (Idaho Power). Funded by Bonneville Power Administration, Idaho Fish and Game, & Idaho Power.
Linking whole-system carbon cycling to quantitative food webs in the Colorado River. Graduate Student: Kevin Donner. Collaborators: Drs. Bob Hall (University of Wyoming), Emma Rosi-Marshall (Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies), Wyatt Cross (Montana State University), Ted Kennedy & Michael Yard (USGS). Funded by USGS, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center.
Effects of wildfire on linked stream-riparian food webs in an Idaho wilderness watershed. Graduate Student: Rachel Malison. Collaborators: Jeff Braatne, Breanne Jackson, Mazeika Sullivan & Kerri Vierling (University of Idaho), Wayne Minshall (Idaho State University), & Taylor Ranch Wilderness Field Station (University of Idaho). Funded by the DeVlieg Foundation.
Human effects on carbon export, nutrient limitation, and primary productivity in watersheds of Idaho. Graduate Students: Madeleine Mineau & Heather Bechtold. Postdoc: Dr. Amy Marcarelli. Collaborators: Drs. Richard Inouye, Dan Ames, Rob Van Kirk (Idaho State University), Jim McNamara & Shawn Benner (Boise State University). Funded as part of The Idaho Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Grant: National Science Foundation-EPSCoR and through grants from ISU and the Inland Northwest Research Alliance.
The functional importance and restoration of river-floodplain systems in the Columbia River basin: Implications for the recovery of Pacific Salmon. Graduate Student: Ryan Bellmore. Collaborators on Yankee Fork Salmon River project (funded by the Shoshone Bannock Tribes): Evelyn Galloway, Lytle Denny, Kurt Tardy (Shoshone-Bannock Tribes). Collaborators on Methow River project (funded by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation): Pat Connelly (U.S. Geological Survey), Michael Newsom (US Bureau of Reclamation).
Multi-layered, interdisciplinary mapping of a wilderness watershed--"The Big Onion". Collaborators: Christian Torgersen (USGS/University of Washington), Kate Dwire (USFS), Joe Ebersole (USEPA/Oregon State University), Jen Pierce (Boise State University), Joe Giersch (National Park Service), Jeremy Monroe (Freshwaters Illustrated), and Jim & Holly Akenson (U. Idaho). Funded by the DeVlieg Foundation.
Effects of Wildfire on Streams. Collaborators: Taylor Ranch Field Station, Chris Robinson (ISU, EAWAG), Tim Mihuc (SUNY Plattsburg), and former students Todd Royer, Christina Relyea, Amanda Rugenski, Sarah Owen, Kate Bowman, Cary Myler, Jim Brock, Doug Andrews, and Deron Lawrence. Funding from the U.S. Forest Service-Payette National Forest, National Park Service, ISU, Yellowstone Foundation, DeVlieg Foundation, National Science Foundation, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Follow this link for more on wildfire studies.
Previously Researched Topics
Factors influencing Rocky Mountain tailed frog (Ascaphus montanus) distribution and abundance. Graduate Student: Jason Jones. Collaborator: Dr. Chuck Peterson (Idaho State University). Funded by Montana Dept. Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
International perspectives on the ecology and conservation of bull trout, white-spotted charr, and Dolly Varden charr. Collaborators: Dr. Jason Dunham (USGS) and colleagues from Japan (K. Morita, S. Yamamoto, S. Kitano, I. Koizumi, T. Nakamura), Russia (K. Savvaitova), Canada (R. Taylor), and the U.S. (K. Fausch, B. Rieman, J. Stanford, W. Fredenberg). Funded by the Western Division of the American Fisheries Society, the US Forest Service, and the Wild Salmon Center.
Effects of nonnative stream fishes and riparian disturbances that alter flows of resources between stream and riparian food webs in northern Japan (2002-2004). Collaborators: Kurt Fausch (Colorado State University), Masashi Murakami (Hokkaido University, Japan), Phil Chapman (Colorado State University), Yoshinori Taniguchi (Yamaguchi Prefectural University, Japan), Mikio Inoue (Ehime University, Japan), and Gaku Takimoto (Yale University). Funding from the National Science Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Rapid Bioassessment Procedures for Rivers. Collaborators: Chris Robinson, Todd Royer, Christina Relyea, Terry Maret (USGS-WRD), and Bob Danehy (Weyerhauser). Funding from the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.
Transport Dynamics of Organic Matter in Stream Ecosystems. Collaborators: Steve Thomas, Denis Newbold (Stroud Water Research Center), Bert Cushing (Colorado State University), Michael Monaghan (EAWAG, Switzerland), Ted Georgian (Saint Bonaventure University). Funding from the National Science Foundation.