OGFL Research Projects aim to inform critical policy decisions regarding the conservation and management of imperiled fishes and their habitats. Our research is interdiscipinary and collaborative in nature, requiring robust research networks and interagency collaborations. These include science partnerships across a variety of departments at UC Davis (ICP-MS Facility, Fish Conservation Physiology Lab, Genomic Variation Lab, Aquatic Health Program, Fish Conservation & Culture Lab), as well as federal (NMFS, USFWS, USBR, EPA, USGS, USACE) and state (CDFW, CDWR, CWB, IEP, DSP) agencies, local municipalites (City of San Jose), non-profit organizations (SFEI, SF Bay Keeper), and environmental consulting firms (ICF, Cramer Fish Sci.).
[Field Suveys] [Otolith Age & Growth] [Otolith Chemistry] [Gallery]
The OGFL specializes in three primary methods of fisheries research:
Field Surveys & Monitoring
Field surveys utilize a variety of research vessels and sampling gears to quanitfy distributions of larval, juvenile, and adult fishes and associated invertebrates in wetland habitats throughout the San Francisco Estuary. These surveys have facilitated the first regional comparisons of aquatic wetland communities across the Estuary, as well as the first regional assessment of the use of wetland habitats bay endangered Longfin Smelt.
Otolith Age & Growth
Otolith increment analyses focus on quantifying variation in hatch dates, growth rates, and age structure (daily and annual) of fishes across species, regions, habitats, years, and in relation to environmental variability. Distinct aging protocols are developed for each species in order to interpret either daily (juvenile fishes) or annual otolith incremnets. Otolith-based age and growth studies have documented the responses of species’ vital rates and phenology to variation in climate and help address the consequences of human impacts for imperiled fish populations.
Otolith Geochemistry
Geochemical studies of otoliths utilize lasers and mass spectrometers to quantify variation in elemental concentrations, strontium isotopes, and oxygen isotopes to retrace the natal origins and migratory behaviors of exploited and endangered fishes. Laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) of polished otolith and fin ray sections are conducted in collaboration with Justin Glessner at the UC Davis Interdisciplinary Center for Plasma Mass Spectrometry, in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Results have documented diverse life histories with important implications for fisheries management, species conservation, and habitat restoration for each of these imperiled species.
Image Gallery:
