Current Research

My research focuses on understanding the effects of climate change, contemporary forest harvest and disturbances on fish in both riparian and aquatic habitats, and more generally on the ecological linkages among water, land, and people. My goals are to use multiple lines of inquiry from various approaches to understand the complexities of fish and other species in the aquatic and riparian world that have implications for management and policy planning.

Among my current projects, I am working to develop and apply novel tools and approaches using metabarcoding of environmental DNA in water to evaluate the presence of multiple species in streams throughout Oregon, Washington, and northern California. Many aquatic species in streams are cryptic or found in low numbers, making them difficult to detect. This method is a potentially low cost, rapid assessment tool for monitoring aquatic species of concern and invasive species that would aid managers and landowners in planning for multiple management objectives. Learn more about this project here.

Research Interests

• Aquatic and riparian ecology
• Aquatic biodiversity
• Fisheries science
• Pacific trout conservation
• Salmonid population dynamics
• Environmental DNA (eDNA)
• Metagenomics, next-generation DNA sequencing tools

Past Research

My recent research includes work on the diversity and conservation of Pacific trout throughout western North America, the population dynamics of salmonids, how disturbance regimes in stream systems of the Pacific Northwest impact salmonids, and how stream habitat variability can shield some fish from the effects of forest harvest and climate change. In addition to my research in aquatic and riparian systems, I have also investigated the diversity inequities in the field of fisheries science with regard to gender and race/ethnicity disparities.

For more information on these projects, check out the links below:
Local habitat conditions can safeguard cutthroat trout agains forest harvest, climate change
North Pacific Trout: Swimming Into the Future?
Brooke Penaluna: Projects and Activities

Publications

• Coble, Ashley A.; Flinders, Camille A.; Homyack, Jessica A.; Penaluna, Brooke E.; Cronn, Richard C.; Weitemier, Kevin . 2019. eDNA as a tool for identifying freshwater species in sustainable forestry: A critical review and potential future applications.
• Penaluna, Brooke E.; Olson, Deanna H.; Flitcroft, Rebecca L.; Weber, Matthew A.; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Wondzell, Steven M.; Dunham, Jason B.; Johnson, Sherri L.; Reeves, Gordon H. 2017. Aquatic biodiversity in forests: a weak link in ecosystem services resilience.
• Penaluna, Brooke E.; Arismendi, Ivan; Moffitt, Christine M.; Penney, Zachary L. 2017. Nine proposed action areas to enhance diversity and inclusion in the American Fisheries Society.
• Schwartz, Michael; Penaluna, Brooke; Wilcox, Taylor. 2017. eDNA sampling: Not just for fisheries biologists anymore.
• Penaluna, Brooke E. 2016. Conservacion de truchas del Pacifico.
• Penaluna, Brooke E.; Abadía-Cardoso, Alicia; Dunham, Jason B.; García-Dé León, Francisco J.; Gresswell, Robert E.; Luna, Arturo Ruiz; Taylor, Eric B.; Shepard, Bradley B.; Al-Chokhachy, Robert; Muhlfeld, Clint C.; Bestgen, Kevin R.; Rogers, Kevin; Escalante, Marco A.; Keeley, Ernest R.; Temple, Gabriel M.; Williams, Jack E.; Matthews, Kathleen R.; Pierce, Ron; Mayden, Richard L.; Kovach, Ryan P.; Garza, John Carlos; Fausch, Kurt D. 2016. Conservation of native Pacific trout diversity in Western North America.
• Arismendi, Ivan; Penaluna, Brooke E. 2016. Examining diversity inequities in fisheries science: a call to action.
• Penaluna, Brooke. 2016. The histories and destinies of Chile and California.
• Watts, Andrea; Penaluna, Brooke; Dunham, Jason. 2016. The idiosyncrasies of streams: local variability mitigates vulnerability of trout to changing conditions.
• Penaluna, Brooke E.; Dunham, Jason B.; Noakes, David L. G. 2015. Instream cover and shade mediate avian predation on trout in semi-natural streams.
• Penaluna, Brooke E.; Noakes, David L. G. 2015. Instream cover and shade mediate avian predation on trout in semi-natural streams.
• Penaluna, Brooke E.; Dunham, Jason B.; Railsback, Steve F.; Arismendi, Ivan; Johnson, Sherri L.; Bilby, Robert E.; Safeeq, Mohammad; Skaugset, Arne E.; Meador, James P. 2015. Local variability mediates vulnerability of trout populations to land use and climate change.
• Penaluna, Brooke E.; Bodensteiner, Leo R. 2015. North Pacific Spiny Dogfish (Squalus suckleyi) presence in Eelgrass habitat in the Salish Sea, Washington.
• Penaluna, Brooke E.; Railsback, Steve F.; Dunham, Jason B.; Johnson, Sherri; Bilby, Robert E.; Skaugset, Arne E.; Bradford, Michael. 2015. The role of the geophysical template and environmental regimes in controlling stream-living trout populations.
• Arismendi, Ivan; Penaluna, Brooke E.; Dunham, Jason B.; Garcia de Leaniz, Carlos; Soto, Doris; Fleming, Ian A.; Gomez-Uchida, Daniel; Gajardo, Gonzalo; Varga, Pamela V.; León-Muñoz, Jorge. 2014. Differential invasion success of salmonids in southern Chile: patterns and hypotheses.

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
PNW-2016-220	New Study Finds a Surprising Lack of Diversity Among Fisheries Scientists Women and minorities are a small portion of tenure-track faculty and federal-government professionals in fisheries sciences, likely because of s ...	2016