Russ Thurow
Research Fisheries Biologist at the Boise Aquatic Sciences Laboratory

email: rthurow[at]fs.fed.us
phone: 208-373-4377

Personal Research Program

Integrated/Interdisciplinary/Cooperative Research Program

Briefing Papers

Recent Publications

Aquatic Ecology | Fisheries | Watershed Processes

I. Patterns of species and life stages

• There is a need to Integrate Disciplines and broaden the scales at which we investigate the physical and biological processes that influence aquatic habitat and the distribution, diversity, and persistence of fish.
• New knowledge is required to describe Temporal and Spatial Habitat Requirements for poorly understood life stages of native salmonids.
• As landscape analysis assumes a more central role in ecosystem management, it is critical to understand the Influence of Landscape Features on the Distribution of Critical Fish Habitats.
• Analytical frameworks and guidelines are essential for interpretations of Status and Occurrence of Species at large scales.

II. Structure of populations

• Patterns in the distribution and spatial structure of populations may be important to their persistence in stochastic environments. There is a need to examine the Role of Habitat Geometry and Spatial Structuring to fish population dynamics and persistence.
• Metapopulation Theory suggests that dispersal and recolonization will influence the dynamics and persistence of populations. Empirical evidence is limited, however, and additional understanding of salmonid dispersal and recolonization mechanisms is needed.
  

III. Sampling protocols

Biologists and managers need reliable methods to assess the Status of fish populations, to monitor Population Responses to Management Activities, and to measure Fish Responses to Temporal and Spatial Changes in habitat.

IV. Climate affects

There is a critical need to understand the Affects of a Warming Climate on the phenology, distribution, abundance, and persistence of native western fishes.

Fluvial bull trout movements, spawning, and habitat use.     

Collaborators: Dan Schill and Steve Elle (Idaho Department of Fish and Game), John Guzevich (RMRS).

Modeling distributions of salmonid spawning substrates based on fundamental hydrologic processes.

Collaborators: Mik Lewicki (San Francisco Estuary Institute), John Buffington and Dan Isaak (RMRS).

Assessing spatial and temporal variation in Chinook salmon populations.

Collaborators: Jason Dunham (US Geological Survey), Dan Isaak (RMRS).

Description of fine-scale genetic patterns in Chinook salmon from central Idaho streams.

Collaborators: Helen Neville (Trout Unlimited), Dan Isaak (RMRS), Jason Dunham (US Geological Survey).

Analysis of otolith microchemisty to describe life history types and dispersal of Chinook salmon.

Collaborators: Dan Isaak (RMRS), Brian Kennedy (University of Idaho).

Development of protocols for sampling stream dwelling salmonids.

Collaborators: James Peterson (University of Georgia), John Guzevich (RMRS).

Bias and precision of Chinook salmon redd counts.     

Collaborators: Claire McGrath and Dan Isaak (RMRS), Peter Hahn (Washington Department of Fisheries and Wildlife), Bill Thompson (National Park Service)

Goode, J. R., J. M. Buffington, D. Tonina, D. J. Isaak, R. F. Thurow, S. Wenger, D. Nagel, C. Luce, D. Tetzlaff, and C. Soulsby. 2013. Potential effects of climate change on streambed scour and risks to salmonid survival in snow-dominated mountain basins. Hydrologic Processes. 27(5): 750-765.

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Thurow, R.F., J.E. Marsden, and C.A. Dolloff. In Press. Visual observation of fishes and aquatic habitat. Chapter 16 In: A. Zale, editor. Fisheries Techniques, 3rd edition. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.

Thurow, R.F. 2010. Analyzing the persistence and spatial dynamics of Chinook Salmon in the Middle Fork Salmon River basin, Idaho. Annual Report for BPA Project Number 1999-020-00. Prepared for: U.S. Department of Energy Bonneville Power Administration. Portland, Oregon 97208-3621.

Thurow, R.F., and C.C. McGrath. 2010. Evaluating the bias and precision of Chinook salmon redd counts in the Middle Fork Salmon River basin, Idaho. Annual Report for BPA Project Number 2002-049-00. Prepared for: U.S. Department of Energy Bonneville Power Administration. Portland, Oregon 97208-3621.

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Dunham, J.B., A.E. Rosenberger, R.F. Thurow, A. Dolloff, and P.J. Howell. 2009. Coldwater fish in wadeable streams. Chapter 8 In: S. Bonar, B. Hughes, and D. Willis, editors. Standard Methods for Sampling North American Freshwater Fishes.

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Courbois, Jean-Yves; Katz, Stephen L.; Isaak, Daniel J.; Steel, E. Ashley; Thurow, Russell F.; Rub, A. Michelle Wargo; Olsen, Tony; Jordan, Chris E. 2008. Evaluating probability sampling strategies for estimating redd counts: an example with Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 65: 1814-1830.

Banish, Nolan P.; Peterson, James T.; Thurow, Russell F. 2008. Physical, biotic, and sampling influences on diel habitat use by stream-dwelling bull trout. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 28: 176-187.   

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Thurow, Russell F.; Rieman, Bruce E.; Lee, Danny C.; Howell, Philip J.; Perkinson, Raymon D. 2007. Distribution and status of redband trout in the interior Columbia river basin and portions of the Klamath river and great basins. Redband Trout: Resilience and Challenge in a Changing Landscape. Oregon Chapter, American Fisheries Society. 19 p.

Isaak, Daniel J.; Thurow, Russell F.; Rieman, Bruce E.; Dunham, Jason B. 2007. Chinook salmon use of spawning patches: Relative roles of habitat quality, size, and connectivity. Ecological Applications. 17(2): 352-364.

Neville, Helen; Isaak, Daniel; Thurow, Russell; Dunham, Jason; Rieman, Bruce 2007. Microsatellite variation reveals weak genetic structure and retention of genetic variability in threatened Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytcha) within a Snake River watershed. Conservation genetics. 8(1): 133-147 

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Thurow, Russell F.; Peterson, James T.; Guzevich, John W. 2006. Utility and validation of day and night snorkel counts for estimating bull trout abundance in first-to-third order streams. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 26: 117-132.

Isaak, Daniel J.; Thurow, Russell F. 2006. Network-scale spatial and temporal variation in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) redd distributions: patterns inferred from spatially continuous replicate surveys. Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences. 63(2): 285-296.

Neville, H. M.; Isaak, D. J.; Dunham, J. B.; Thurow, R. F.; Rieman, B. E. 2006. Fine-scale natal homing and localized movement as shaped by sex and spawning habitat in Chinook salmon: Insights from spatial autocorrelation analysis of individual genotypes. Molecular Ecology. 15: 4589-4602.

Research Scientists