SAMANTHA M. WILSON
Changes in permitted days and times of fishing in Northern British Columbia had us wondering - what impacts, if any, do these changes have on the angler's fishing experience? Angler's were happier with fewer fisherman and more fish. Generally though, as long as the fish turn up, everybody's happy.
Pitman et al. 2019 CJFAS
Tide gates act as one-way valves that protect important farmland from flooding but at the same time can prevent water circulation. We found that oxygen levels behind tide gates were too low to support most native fish! Can these gates prevent fish from accessing or leaving these stream habitats?
Gordon et al. Estuaries and Coasts, 2015
Ever wondered what happened to that fish you released? Fish often become stressed during and after a fisheries capture. We looked at the ability of different recovery gear to help fish 'destress' and found that not all gear is equal.
Raby et al. PLoS ONE, 2015
This page is currently under construction. Check back to see updates! Last Updated 04/02/2022
Adult salmon make and energetically expensive trip upstream to spawn. In fact they can use up to 95% of their total body fat during this nonfeeding migration. While we know a lot about how much energy it takes to migrate upstream, we know less about the amount of energy used in the nonfeeding marine migration. We modeled energy use during the nonfeeding marine migration for adult sockeye salmon using accelerometer tags. We found that the energy used for this phase could be more than 30% of the total upstream energy budget. Wilson et al. In Press Estuaries and Coasts
Young salmon make an up to several week long journey to the ocean from their freshwater rearing locations. They pack their fat for the journey, and use it as fuel for the migration. But could how much fat they pack determine how long they can survive in the marine environment? Find out.... Wilson et al. 2021 Conservation Physiology
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What makes a good home for salmon in estuaries? Though they stay for only a short time, estuary homes are important for salmon survival. But in an environment that changes by the minute, what makes salmon habitat? We found that salmon are found in turbid, nearshore areas with eelgrass and algae. Sharpe et al. 2019. Aquatic Conservation
Does when young salmon arrive in the ocean impact their survival? We examined the factors effecting early marine survival in steelhead and found that both size and timing determine whether a fish will survive their stay in the ocean.
Wilson et al. 2021 Progress in Oceanography
How do human activities in estuaries impact juvenile salmon survival and growth? We found that pollutants and connectivity loss caused by human development have clear negative effects on salmon. However, we also identified multiple knowledge gaps which highlights potential risk for salmon as estuary development continues. Hodgson et al. 2020 Global Change Biology
Salmon swim at about 1.5 body lengths per second which is the equivalent of a human running 6.8 km/h.They maintain this speed regardless of environmental conditions for up to 1000 km (~24 marathons) WITHOUT eating!!
Wilson et al. MEPS, 2014
New technology is great... but someone has to test it! I tested the ability of newly developed acoustic accelerometer transmitters to predict swim speed and oxygen consumption in wild salmon. It required watching ~400 hrs of slow motion salmon videos...
Wilson et al. CBP-A, 2013
We often here about non-targeted animals (by-catch) that get caught in commercial fishing gear and die. But what happens to the animals that survive capture, but have sustained injuries or high stress? We explore the possibilities in this review paper.
Wilson et al. Biol. Cons., 2014
