Two Case Studies from Washington's Olympic Peninsula: Radio Telemetry Reveals Bull Trout Anadromy and Establishes Baseline Information Prior to Dam Removal
Corbett SC and Brenkman SJ. 2012. Two Case Studies from Washington's Olympic Peninsula: Radio Telemetry Reveals Bull Trout Anadromy and Establishes Baseline Information Prior to Dam Removal. Pages 207-220. In Adams NS, Beeman JW, Eiler JH (ed). Telemetry Techniques: A Users Guide for Fisheries Research. American Fisheries Society. Bethesda, MD
The purpose of these case studies is to discuss important technological considerations during the design and implementation phases of radio telemetry studies in wilderness river systems that drain into marine waters. We present research objectives and specific examples of information collected using radio telemetry from two case studies in small river systems (<900 km2) on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. In the first case study, we describe how the use of radio telemetry revealed that bull trout moved between freshwater and the Pacific Ocean and between watersheds along coastal Washington. This was the first verification of anadromy and irregular periods of freshwater, estuarine, and marine residencey for bull trout (Brenkman and Corbett 2005). The second case study focuses on the use of radio telemetry to assess fish movements prior to large-scale dam removal and recolonization by anadromous Pacific salmonids in the Elwha River. Removal of the two dams in the Elwha River is scheduled to begin in 2011, and will represent one of the largest dam removals in North America (Duda et al 2008). We conclude by highlighting some of the advantages and disadvantages of the application of radio telemetry techniques in these remote river systems and provide management implications from this work.
- Type
- Book Chapter
- Authors
- Corbett, Stephen; Brenkman, Samuel
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- anadromy, Bull Trout, Dam Removal, Elwha River Watershed, Hoh River Watershed, Marine, Queets River Watershed, Quinault River Watershed, Radio Telemetry, wilderness rivers
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Riparian Communities