The Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Group
Capabilities
Sharon K. Taylor, DVM, PhD, Group Manager, sktaylor@usbr.gov, 303-445-2052
The Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Group has significant experience and capability in the following technical areas. Scroll down or jump to sections by clicking below:
Fish and Fishery Studies
Wildlife Research and Habitat Assessment
Regulatory Assessment and Compliance
Environmental Chemistry
Statistics, Modeling, GIS, and General Environmental Study Services
Fish and Fishery Studies
- Fish Population and Habitat Assessment Investigations
- Spawning Studies and Egg and Larvae Surveys
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- Threatened and Endangered Fish, and Species of Concern
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Left - The Delta smelt. Hypomesus transpacificus, an Endangered Species in the Central Valley of California. Photo by Rene Reyes. |
Right - The razorback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus, an endangered native fish in the Colorado River Basin. |
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- Fish Entrainment Quantification and Assessment - We have performed numerous in-depth entrainment investigations for irrigation diversion dams and structures at many Reclamation projects including the Huntley Project, Frenchtown Project, and Milk River Project in Montana, the Umatilla Project in Oregon, the Yakima Project in Washington, the Shoshone Project in Wyoming, Vallecito Dam and Blue Mesa Dam in Colorado, and Shasta Dam and the Tracy Fish Collection Facility in California.
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Left - Fishery biologist Don Portz (left) using vertical nets installed near river diversion structures to estimate numbers and species of fish entrained in the T&Y Canal near the Tongue River, a tributary of the Yellowstone River in Southern Montana. |
Right - Biologists Steve Ryan (left) and Ray Bark (right) preparing to identify, measure, and weigh fish entrained at the Maxwell Canal, Oregon. We specialize in setting up temporary fish labs like this that include holding tanks and surgical facilities |
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- Fish Friendly Pumps and Fish Salvage Efficiency Improvements
- Tracy Fish Facility Improvement Program
Below Left - The trash rack at the entrance to the Tracy Fish Collection Facility, a fish salvage facility designed to remove fish from the intake channel of the Tracy Pumping Plant. We have been performing fishery behavior and engineering research at this facility and in Denver since 1989. Click here to see the Tracy research website . |
 Above Right - The experimental oval holding tank located in the hydraulics laboratory at the Denver TSC. The diagonal pipe is a fish-friendly pump called an Archimedes lift. This tank is being tested by fishery biologist Don Portz as part of his Ph.D. research to see if the oval design is less stressful to fish that are being held during salvage operations. |
- Fish Protection Structure Evaluation and Effective Design Consultations - We have investigated a variety of fish behavior structures and devices including louvers and screens, electric barriers, strobe lights, low frequency sound, and other physical barriers.
- Laboratory Model Testing with Live Fish
| Right - Fish entrainment at irrigation diversion dams and canal intakes is an ongoing issue for Reclamation water projects. Here, we see the louver bypass on the T&Y Canal, Montana. We evaluated the efficiency of fish diversion at this structure with attention to local species of concern and native fish. |  |
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Left - Passive separator design model being tested in the experimental hydraulic flume with live fish in the TSC Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services Group, Denver, Colorado. Below - A mechanical fish crowder being tested in a research hydraulic flume.  |
- Automated Fish Counting and Identification using Motion Analysis Software
- Fish Imaging and Video in Turbid and Dark Waters (DIDSON)
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Left - Computer output from the Vaki Riverwatcher automated fish counting system showing average lengths of fish from two locations. The blue graph line is water temperature. We have experience with the installation and use of these state of the art automated fish counting devices. |
| Right - The DIDSON (Dual-Frequency Identification Sonar) camera is a sonar imaging device able to generate low resolution video images that can allow direct observation of fish behavior in turbid or dark waters. This is an invaluable tool for studying fish behavior structures such as crowders and separators, or for identifying predator milling or feeding behaviors. The image to the right is a still image from a DIDSON movie (click image to view movie) showing a prey fish behind a predator screen. DIDSON movies courtesy of Ed Belcher at Sound Metrics Corp. |  |
- Fish Behavior, Kinematics, and Telemetry
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Left - Graph showing movements over time In the Yakima River for seven steelhead trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, with implanted radio tags. |
- Physiological and Chemical Assessment of Fish Stress - Plasma Constituent Analyses
- Fishery Critical Velocity and Flow Response Determinations
- Fisheries Food Web Bioenergetic Analysis and Modeling
- Examining trophic status and diet of freshwater fish and invertebrates using stable isotope and gut contents analysis
- Aquaculture
Right - A view of fish holding tanks at the Denver Aquaculture Facility. This fish rearing and holding faciity filters and removes toxins from water, maintains constant optimum temperature, and can be operated in recirculating or flow-through modes. |
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- Nitrogen Supersaturation Investigations and Monitoring at Dams
- Water Quality and Limnology of Reservoirs and Rivers
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Wildlife Research and Habitat Assessments
- Project Wildlife Assessment and Protection Strategies
- Threatened and Endangered Terrestrial Species Investigations
- Invasive and Nuisance Species Problems
- Terrestrial Species and Habitat Studies
- Mammals - Population and Migration Studies
- Birds - Avian Nesting, Telemetry and Project Interaction Surveys
- Reptiles - Herpetological Reproduction and Population Surveys
| Right - Southwestern willow flycatcher chicks in a nest found on the Rio Grande River, New Mexico. Photograph by Dave Moore. |  |
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Left - Wildlife biologist Dave Moore (left) counting and measuring turtles on the Rio Grande River, New Mexico. The specimen seen here is a spiny softshell turtle, Apalone spinifera. |
- Vegetation Surveys and Habitat Mapping
- Wetlands Identification, Assessment and
- Mapping Evaluation and Design of Constructed Wetlands
| Right - Two curious elk supervising biologist Vicky Johanson while she uses a portable GPS receiver to delineate wetland boundaries below Olympus Dam at Wapiti Meadows, Estes Park, Colorado. These data will be used to generate maps as part of a geographic information system (GIS) for the project. For more information on this project, please visit the Upper Thompson Sanitation District website. |  |
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Left - Biologist Chelsie Morris (foreground) using a surveying transit to aid with habitat mapping on the Upper Lemhi River in Idaho, a tributary of the Salmon River. |
| Right - Biologist Greg Reed measures the water level in a shallow piezometer well as part of wetland evaluations near Los Lunas, New Mexico. |  |
- Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) and Physical Habitat Simulation Program (PHABSIM) Modeling
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Left - Two-dimensional flow vector output from the IFIM modeling done on the Middle Fork John Day River, part of the Columbia River watershed. This work was in response to the Biological Opinion issued in December 2000 by the National Marine Fisheries Service on the Federal Columbia River Power System. The purpose of this study was to evaluate streamflows needed for steelhead migration as part of an anadromous fisheries habitat improvement program. |
Regulatory Assessment and Compliance
- Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 Consultations
- Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Actions
- Essential Fish Habitat Consultation with NOAA Fisheries
- Clean Water Act (CWA) Sections 401 and 404 Permits
- NEPA Environmental Impact Statements - Full Services for Planning, Investigations, and Publication
- NEPA Environmental Assessments
- NEPA Categorical Exclusions
- CERCLA, NPDES, and RCRA data quality validation
- Hazardous Wastes and Remediations
Environmental Chemistry Capabilities
- Fate and Transformation of Contaminants at the Watershed and Basin Scale
- Ground Water Chemistry and Geochemistry
- Chemical Equilibrium Computer Modeling - MINTEQA2, PHREEQE
- Interpretation and Assessment of Water Quality and Hydrologic Data
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- Chemical Speciation and Bioavailability of Toxic Compounds
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Left - The universal environmental interface for all animals is some kind of mucus - a highly hydrated sol/gel that is composed of a complex mixture os simple sugars, disaccharides, polysaccharides, glycoproteins, antibodies, and transport enzymes. These compounds contain carboxylate ion groups (yellow dots) that can bind with toxic metals. |
| Right - Trace metal uptake across fish gills is simulated by pumping water through a column containing an affinity chromatography gel that is similar to mucus. By measuring trace element concentration at different flow rates, effective binding - bioavailability - can be determined for column residence times that relate to gill exposure time in a fish. |  |
- Mercury and Methylmercury in Watersheds and Fish
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Top Left - The Carson River Basin and Lahontan Reservoir was contaminated with mercury from mining and refining at the historic Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. Below Left - The Carson River at Fort Churchill, Nevada. Bottom Right - The Leslie Gulch sampling station on Lake Owyhee, Oregon. Both of these watersheds have significant mercury contamination originally caused by pollution from historical gold and silver mining and refining. This contamination has caused bioaccumulation problems and the issuing of fish consumption advisories. |
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- Acid Mine Drainage and Tailings Contamination Assessment
- Acid Precipitation and Transport and Cycling of Atmospheric Contaminants
- Microcosm Simulation of River and Lake Sediment-Water Systems
- Analytical Chemistry and Sampling for Environmental Comtaminants
- Chemical Tests for Soil and Rock Construction Materials, and Dispersive Soils
- Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) for Chemical Testing
- Ultra-Clean Sampling Protocols for Ultra-Trace Chemical Compounds
- Dam Seepage Chemistry and Dam Safety Mineral Dissolution Assessments - Dissolution of soluble minerals like gypsum and calcite can produce voids and seepage that lead to dam failures. We have performed seepage chemistry investigations at Deer Flat Embankments, Idaho, Glen Canyon Dam, Utah-Arizona, Sanford Dam, Texas, Horsetooth Dam, Colorado, Yellowtail Dam, Montana, and Clark Canyon Dam, Montana.
| Right - Gene Price, Colorado Area Office, Loveland, Colorado, Inspecting seepage downstream of Carter Lake Dam, Colorado. Analysis of seepage chemistry can reveal information about mineral dissolution and potential dam safety issues. |  |
Statistics, Modeling, GIS, and General Environmental Study Services
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Statistical Data Analysis: experimental design, ANOVA, linear and nonlinear regression, multiple regression, parametric and nonparametric methods, multivariate classification methods, resampling statistics, neural networks, control charts
- Computer Environmental Modeling: EDT, IHA, Riverware, IFIM, PHABSIM, PHREEQE, MINTEQA2, NETPATH, MODFLOW
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Mapping
- Mapping and GIS Spatial Analysis in Fisheries and Wildife Studies
An essential component of any environmental study is the use of GIS to generate overlay and project maps that reveal relationships between different variables, such as vegetation and species habitat boundaries, or between surface geology and water quality. Below - Geology map of the American River Basin, California showing volcanic rocks (red) associated with elevated mercury concentrations. Right - Project map for Lahonton Reservoir, Nevada, located in the Carson River Basin.  |
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- Microphotography and Technical Photography
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- Research Program and Large Project Management
- Quality Assurance Management
- Data Base Design, QA, and Integration with Web
- Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water Quality Field Sampling and Monitoring
- Aquatic and Terrestrial Toxicology
- Technical Writing and Editing of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Regulatory Publications
This site updated January 31, 2013