Scott P. Vanderkooi | Geology Reports

USGS2017

Scientific monitoring plan in support of the selected alternative of the Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan

Introduction The purpose of this document is to describe a strategy by which monitoring and research data in the natural and social sciences will be collected, analyzed, and provided to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), its bureaus, and to the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) in support of implementation of the Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2016a). The selected alternative identified in the LTEMP Record of Decision (ROD) (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2016b) describes various data collection, analysis, modeling, and interpretation efforts to be conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC), partner agencies, and cooperators that will inform decisions about operations of Glen Canyon Dam and management of downstream resources between 2017 and 2037, the performance period of the LTEMP. General data collection, analysis, modeling, and interpretation activities are described in this science plan, whereas specific monitoring and research activities and detailed study plans are to be described in the GCDAMP’s triennial work plans (TWPs) to be developed by the Bureau of Reclamation and GCMRC with input from partner agencies and cooperators during the LTEMP period, which are to be reviewed and recommended by the GCDAMP and approved by the Secretary of the Interior. The GCDAMP consists of several components, the primary committee being the Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG). This Federal advisory committee is composed of 25 agencies and stakeholder groups and is chaired by the Secretary of the Interior’s designee. The AMWG makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior concerning operations of Glen Canyon Dam and other experimental management actions that are intended to fulfill some obligations of the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992. The Technical Work Group (TWG) is a subcommittee of the AMWG and provides technical advice to the AMWG. It is composed of technical and science representatives from the same agencies and stakeholder groups who serve on the AMWG. GCMRC is the primary science provider to the GCDAMP and also coordinates many aspects of the science performed by cooperators and partner agencies. The Science Advisors Program provides independent science reviews and advice at the request of the GCDAMP. The plan proposed here necessarily depends on (1) the protocol for decision-making and the requirements for scientific data reporting described in the LTEMP ROD, (2) the priorities of the GCDAMP as directed by the LTEMP ROD (see Department of the Interior, 2016b, section 6.1), (3) the priorities for monitoring and research in the conservation measures section of the Biological Opinion for the LTEMP (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2016b, LTEMP ROD attachment E), (4) the priorities for resource management and information needs established by Federal and State resource-management agencies within the GCDAMP, (5) scientific understanding about the linkage between the status of those resources and operations of Glen Canyon Dam, and (6) the need to resolve existing scientific uncertainties about the linkage between dam operations and the condition of resources. We note that resource-management prioritization is fundamentally a policy decision charged specifically to DOI for the Colorado River in Glen and Grand Canyons, as outlined most recently in the LTEMP ROD, and is not the responsibility of the GCMRC. However, it is the responsibility of the GCMRC to describe the nature of scientific understanding, the nature of scientific uncertainty, and the risk of making resourcemanagement decisions in the face of existing scientific uncertainty. The goals of science activities in the next 20 years are to inform operational decisions regarding Glen Canyon Dam operations described in the LTEMP ROD, resolve remaining scientific uncertainties, and to monitor resource trends that are affected entirely, or in part, by dam operations.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2016

Transforming growth factor-β1 expression in endangered age-0 shortnose suckers ( Chasmistes brevirostris ) from Upper Klamath Lake, OR relative to histopathology, meristic, spatial, and temporal data

During July – September of 2008, 2009, and 2010 endangered age-0 juvenile shortnose suckers were sampled from Upper Klamath Lake, OR in a health evaluation that included the measurement of transforming growth factor – beta (TGF-β) expression in spleen in combination with a histopathology assessment. This analysis was performed to determine if the expression of this immuno-regulator could be used as a component of a larger health evaluation intended to identify potential risk-factors that may help to explain why very few of these fish survive to age-1. Potential associations between TGF-β1 expression, histopathological findings, meristic data as well as temporal and spatial data were evaluated using analysis-of-variance. In this analysis, the absence or presence of opercula deformity and hepatic cell necrosis were identified as significant factors in accounting for the variance in TGF-β1 expression observed in age-0 shortnose suckers (n = 122, squared multiple R = 0.989). Location of sample collection and the absence or presence of anchor worms ( Lernaea spp.) were identified as significant cofactors. The actual mechanisms involved with these relationships have yet to be determined. The strength, however, of our findings support the concept of using TGF-β1 expression as part of a broader fish health assessment and suggests the potential for using additional immunologic measures in future studies. Specifically, our results indicate that the measure of TGF-β1 expression in age-0 shortnose sucker health assessments can facilitate the process of identifying disease risks that are associated with the documented lack of recruitment into the adult population.

Oregon↗

USGS2009

Physiological development and vulnerability to Ceratomyxa shasta of fall-run Chinook Salmon in the Upper Klamath River Watershed

We evaluated a stock for restoring runs of fall Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in the Upper Klamath River basin by monitoring its development in Iron Gate Hatchery and in net-pens in the Williamson River and Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon. We transferred age-1 hatchery fall Chinook salmon to net-pens in October 2005 and age-0 fall Chinook salmon in May 2006. Indices of smolt development were assessed in the hatchery and after 3 and 14 d in net-pens. Based on gill Na + , K + -ATPase activity and plasma thyroxine (T4) concentration, age-1 Chinook salmon were not developing smolt characteristics in the hatchery during October. Fish transferred to the river or lake had increased plasma cortisol in response to stress and increased T4 accompanying the change in water, but they did not have altered development. Variables in the age-0 Chinook salmon indicated that the fish in the hatchery were smolting. The fish in the river net-pens lost mass and had gill ATPase activity similar to that of the fish in the hatchery, whereas the fish transferred to the lake gained mass and length, had reduced condition factor, and had higher gill ATPase than the fish in the river. These results, along with environmental variables, suggest that the conditions in the lake were more conducive to smoltification than those in the river and thus accelerated the development of Chinook salmon. No Chinook salmon in the hatchery or either net-pen became infected with the myxosporean parasite Ceratomyxa shasta (the presence of which in the river and lake was confirmed) during either trial or when held for 90 d after a 10-d exposure in net-pens (2006 group). We concluded that that there is little evidence of physiological impairment or significant upriver vulnerability to C. shasta among this stock of fall Chinook salmon that would preclude them from being reintroduced into the Upper Klamath River basin.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗