Jeffrey Duda

Upper Skagit River intrinsic potential results

We assessed habitat suitability for salmonids across selected tributaries upstream from three hydroelectric dams on the upper Skagit River in Whatcom County, northern Washington. We used NetMap, a commercial toolset within the ArcMap geographic information system (GIS), to analyze stream attributes based upon a synthetic stream channel network derived from digital elevation models. The GIS-derived stream attributes—including gradient, bankfull width, valley width index, elevation, and stream flow—allowed us to examine the spatial distribution and relative quality of spawning and rearing habitat for salmonids based on existing intrinsic potential (IP) models. As a first step, we created maps of potential anadromous...

Categories: Data; Tags: Ecology, North Cascades National Park, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), biota, habitat suitability indices

Removal of the Glines Canyon Dam Photograph

Removal of the Glines Canyon Dam, Elwha River, Washington state.

Fish abundance in the Elwha River estuary, Washington, from 2006 to 2014

This portion of the data release presents fish abundance data from samples collected in the Elwha River estuary, Washington, in 2006, 2007, 2013, and 2014 (no associated USGS Field Activities numbers because data were collected predominantly by biologists from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe). We used the Puget Sound beach seining protocol (Simenstad and others, 1991) to sample fish populations in the Elwha River estuary complex. The beach seine was 38 m long x 2 m deep, with a 2 m x 2 m bag in the center of the net; mesh size was 3.18 mm, 6.35 mm, and 31.75 mm, for the bag, center panel, and wings, respectively. The seine net was deployed from bank to bank by a small skiff and then pulled on shore. The number of...

Categories: Data; Types: Citation; Tags: Clallam County, Elwha River, Olympic Peninsula, State of Washington, Strait of Juan de Fuca, All tags... biota, fish, fish, fish, fishes, oceans, species diversity, Fewer tags

Terrestrial invertebrate abundance in the Elwha River estuary, Washington, in 2007 and 2013.

This portion of the data release presents terrestrial invertebrate abundance data from samples collected in emergent and shrub vegetation along the edge of the Elwha River estuary, Washington, in 2007 and 2013 (no associated USGS Field Activities numbers because data were collected predominantly by biologists from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe). We deployed terrestrial insect fallout traps at ten locations in the east estuary, five replicates each in shrub and emergent (littoral) vegetation habitats. Clear, rectangular traps (2,400 cm2 in 2007 and 3,526 cm2 in 2013) were filled with 5 cm of filtered soapy water and deployed for 72 hours. Invertebrate counts from 2013 were standardized to the 2007 bin size to account...

Categories: Data; Types: Citation; Tags: Clallam County, Elwha River, Olympic Peninsula, State of Washington, Strait of Juan de Fuca, All tags... animals/invertebrates, biota, invertebrates, invertebrates, invertebrates, oceans, species diversity, Fewer tags

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an Effective Tool to Track Recolonizing Migratory Fish Following Large-Scale Dam Removal, field data

We collected environmental DNA (eDNA) data from the Elwha River, home to the world’s largest dam removal project, to track the spatial and temporal patterns of species responses following dam removal. In total, we collected data for 11 different fish taxa, sampled at 25 sites ranging across 56 river kilometers in a wilderness river for 4 years following dam removal. We show that eDNA can effectively be used to determine whether fish have recolonized past former dams, and in some cases determine the spatial extent of that recolonization.

Categories: Data; Tags: Aquatic Biology, Charr, Dam Removal, Ecology, Elwha River, All tags... Elwha River, Genetics, Salmon, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), biota, environmental DNA, Fewer tags