B.A. Environmental Science
2017
Keeping cool? Is heat stress influencing the success of sub-Arctic spawning Chinook salmon in Alaska?
I am a small-business owner of a GIS consulting firm, Kachemak Geospatial, in Homer, using geospatial analytics for sectors including fisheries, utilities, surveying, local government and renewable energy.
Entrepreneur: pursue innovative solutions to slow the effects of climate change.
- Communicating science to the public
- Collaborating with stakeholders to pursue conservation efforts
- Planning research and logistics
- Managing remote weirs for salmon fisheries
- Applying ESRI suite for dynamic industry solutions
- Drone image processing and 3D modeling
- FAA Part 107 Certified Commercial Pilot
I am assessing the prevalence of heat stress in spawning Chinook salmon on the Kenai Peninsula and quantifying the link between Pacific salmon heat stress presence and spawning success in the subarctic, for the first time. With pressures of a warming climate on salmon migratory habitat, this research will address whether evidence of thermal stress in Chinook salmon is connected to their ability to reproduce successfully. Nonglacial-fed stream temperatures in the Kenai Peninsula are now commonly reaching and exceeding the thermal tolerance threshold of 18°C for migrating Pacific salmon, and the consistent warming of freshwater temperatures is contributing to en route mortality in adult migrating salmon before spawning and weakened reproductive success. This research is part of a greater seed project that is modeling the impact of the Chinook salmon decline on the local economy. This economic information combined with the heat stress research will be used to help inform borough-level decisions.
- Kachemak Bay Conservation Society Board Member