Corporate Training By Zack Academy - The Ecology of Pacific Salmonids

Why Should You Take This The Ecology of Pacific Salmonids Course?

This course on the Ecology of Pacific Salmonids covers the important impact this species has on the ecologic and economic health of western North America. Learn how salmon and trout of the Pacific Coast have continued to evolve in the face of natural disturbances such as floods, fires, volcanoes, wind-throw and disease, and how such influences have helped these species maintain their resiliency. This course will also detail how the magnitude of human-caused disturbances may be so great that irreversible changes will occur by increasing the impact that natural disturbances have on aquatic communities, resulting in both acute and chronic consequences for salmonids. As you will see, while each salmonid is unique, the genetic diversity within species across drainages may be as significant as those found across different species. Despite this variety, salmonid stream management, recovery and protection initiatives rely on certain fundamental biological requirements.

Who Should Take This Course?

This course is specifically designed for practitioners and agency personnel, including biologists, ecologists, hydrologists, planners and regulators involved in stream issues addressing salmonids, water supply and quality issues.

Topics to be Covered Include:

• Origins and evolution of Pacific North American Salmon;
• Life stages of salmon and trout in both coastal and inland streams;
• The habitat requirements applicable to each life stage;
• Substrate quality and hydraulic flow affecting spawning behavior and redd success;
• How habitat features, in-stream complexity, bank structure and large woody debris influence success of salmonids at different life-stages;
• How water chemistry, water temperature and food availability affect trout and salmon behavior; and
• How migration patterns can be impeded or enhanced by changes in flow, water quality, barriers or obstacles

Meet the Instructor:

Joseph E. Merz, Ph.D., is a registered scientist with the American Fisheries Society. He has over 20 years of experience working with aquatic resources and has been the principal scientist on several salmonid habitat restoration programs in the California Central Valley. He has taught environmental science, salmon biology and restoration courses for the past twelve years.

Important: 

• Please bring a pen or pencil and notepad
• Drinks and snacks will be provided throughout the day
• Please wait to receive a course confirmation email (roughly one month prior to the class) before making any travel arrangements

Syllabus

Day 1 tentative schedule:

• 9:00 AM - Introduction and Overview
• Why are salmonids important?
• What Is the Difference Between a Salmon and a Trout?
• Salmonid species
• Origins of the Pacific North American Salmon
• 10:45 AM - Break
• 11:00 AM - Salmonid Physiology
• Anatomy
• Processes
• Life stages
• 12:00 PM - Lunch
• 1:00 PM - Adults
• Spawning Populations
• Timing of Spawning Runs
• Timing of Spawning
• Redd Characteristics
• Fecundity
• Spawning
• Egg Deposition
• 3:00 PM - Freshwater Residence and Downstream Migration
• Incubation and Survival
• Eggs and Alevins
• Emergence and Fry
• Juveniles
• Parr
• Smolts
• Emigration
• 3:30 PM - Estuaries
• 4:30-5:00 PM - Adjourn

Day 2 tentative schedule:

• 9:00 AM - Prey and Predators
• Salmonids as predators- Trout and salmon food habits in fresh water
• Salmonids as Prey
• 10:15 PM - Break
• 10:30 PM - Physical Parameters
• Physiology
• Temperature Requirements
• Dissolved Oxygen Requirements
• Stress, what is it and how is it measured?
• Habitat Impacts, mitigation and restoration
• 12:00 PM - Lunch
• 1:00 PM - The 4 H"s – Hydro, Habitat, Hatcheries, and Harvest
• 2:00 PM - Ocean Ecology
• Climate, Topography and the Marine Environment
• 3:30 PM - Hatchery Effects
• Hatchery issues associated with Pacific salmonids
• 4:30 PM - Class Ends