AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY

FISHERIES SCIENCE: LEARNING FROM THE PAST TO MANAGE THE FUTURE

46^th Annual Conference of the California-Nevada Chapter

March 29-March 31, 2012

Marriott San Diego Mission Valley.

8757 Rio San Diego Drive, San Diego CA. 92108

 Conference Schedule

Registration

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Salon F Foyer

Poster Set-Up

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Rio Vista Pavilion

Vendor Set-Up and Display

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Rio Vista Pavilion

Continuing Education

Continuing Education 1: Pacific Salmonid Spawning Habitat Restoration

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Salon H

Instructors:  Dr. Joseph Merz (University of California- Santa Cruz & Cramer Fish Sciences) and Rocko Brown (ESA-PWA Hydrology)

Capacity: 25 attendees

Cost: $50.00 ($75.00 for non-members; $25.00 for students)

Course Description:

Developed for practitioners and agency personnel involved with field data collection, detailed design and/or review of river restoration projects, this course provides general training in design, implementation and monitoring of in-stream habitat improvement projects in regulated streams and rivers, with an emphasis on the issues surrounding Pacific salmonid spawning rehabilitation and access to spawning areas. We will cover the following topics as they relate to salmonid habitat restoration:

•       Human vs. natural disturbances

•       What is restoration?

•       Historical perspectives on restoration

•       How do natural rivers work?

•       Techniques for restoration

•       Multi-scale channel design basics – from sizing the channel to adding complexity

•       Monitoring and maintenance – what is success?

This course is designed for practitioners and agency personnel involved with field data collection, detailed design and/or review of river restoration projects. It provides general training in design, implementation and monitoring of in-stream habitat improvement projects in regulated streams and rivers, with an emphasis on the issues surrounding Pacific salmonid spawning.

Continuing Education 2: Applied Genetic Techniques

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Santa Fe 3&4

Instructor:  Dr. Scott Blankenship and Gregg Schumer (Cramer Fish Sciences)

Capacity: 25 attendees

Cost: $50.00 ($75.00 for non-members; $25.00 for students)

Course Description:

Despite considerable investment of time and resources, information outcomes from monitoring programs can be substandard or unnecessarily limited in utility. The biomedical field has driven a rapid evolution in genetics, providing many novel, relatively low cost techniques and technologies applicable and powerful for fisheries biologists. These technical advancements can be applied within current monitoring/recovery programs to vastly improve the informed management of fishes. This course will be composed of two 90 minute sections. The first section will include a non-technical primer on how genetic information is obtained and then describe applications of molecular diagnostic tools. The second section will focus on multi-generational molecular tagging methods. In this course you will come away with knowledge regarding new monitoring techniques such as species detection assays for stomach content analysis, using eDNA for invasive species surveys, genetic mark-recapture to quantify viable salmonid population metrics, and relative reproductive success to partition recruitment by origin or habitat.

Scott Blankenship of Cramer Fish Sciences will be leading this workshop. He is a leading expert on population genetics of West Coast fishes. His interests focus on combining the newest tools of molecular biology and genetics theory with field observations of fish populations and their habitat to create solutions for some of the most challenging issues in fishery management, hatchery operations, and population recovery. Dr. Blankenship is a key member of our Genidaqs team. http://www.fishsciences.net/staff/blankenship_scott.php

Field Trip: Leon Raymond Hubbard, Jr., Marine Fish Hatchery Tour

11:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Carlsbad, CA

Charter bus pickup location outside Mission Valley Marriott

Capacity: 50 attendees

Cost: $10.00

In October of 1995, the Leon Raymond Hubbard, Jr., Marine Fish Hatchery was dedicated as one of Southern California's premier aquaculture facilities. Built on land donated by San Diego Gas & Electric on Agua Hedonia Lagoon in Carlsbad, California, this 22,000-square-foot hatchery is an expansion of the successful Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP) which is restoring the California white seabass population through innovative aquaculture and fishery enhancement techniques developed at HSWRI. The hatchery is capable of producing over 350,000 juvenile white seabass annually. Please wear closed toed shoes. Be aware, you will be asked to step into a shallow bath of iodine before entering the hatchery.

Welcome Social

5:00 - 7:00 PM 

Pavilion Patio

Poster Session

5:00 - 8:00 PM

Rio Vista Pavilion

Job Fair & Vendor Show

6:00 - 8:00 PM

Rio Vista Pavilion

Social Hosted by the Sacramento-Davis Student Subunit

8:00 PM - Midnight

Dave & Buster’s Restaurant, Bar and Arcade

2931 Camino Del Rio North (1.1 mi from Mission Valley Marriott)

Friday, March 30, 2012

Registration

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Salon F Foyer

Poster Display

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM 

Rio Vista Pavilion

Plenary Session: Fisheries Science: Learning From the Past to Manage the Future (Moderator: James Hobbs, University of California- Davis)

8:50 - 9:00 AM

Welcome and announcements. James Hobbs, University of California- Davis

9:00 - 9:30 AM

Age-validated longevity of fishes: Its importance for sustainable fisheries. Gregor Cailliet, Professor Emeritus, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories

9:30 - 10:00 AM

Same story, different fish: A brief history of Totoaba and Corvina fisheries in the upper Gulf of California. Brad Erisman, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

10:00 - 10:30 AM

Break

10:30 - 11:00 AM

Ebb and flow of the “Seabass” fisheries off California. Larry Allen, Chair and Professor of Biology, California State University at Northridge

11:00 - 11:30 AM

Mexican fisheries: trends, management and science. Oscar Sosa-Nishizaki, Professor, CICESE Fisheries Ecology Laboratory, Mexico

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Invertebrate fisheries dominate marine fishery landings in California. Laura Rogers-Bennett, Adjunct Professor, Bodega Marine Laboratory, and California Department of Fish & Game

12:00 - 1:00 PM

Lunch break on your own

Chapter Business Meeting

12:00 - 1:00 PM

Schoolroom

Symposium: Threatened and Endangered Species of Southern California (Moderator: James Hobbs, University of California- Davis)

1:30 - 5:00 PM

Salon G

This symposium will bring together agency, university and independent biologists to present the biology, ecology, status, and trends of threatened and endangered species occurring in Southern California.

1:30 - 1:50 PM

Historical changes in the freshwater fish fauna of the Santa Ana River. Roy Leidy, AECOM Technical Services, INC. 

1:50 - 2:10 PM 

Smolt migration success on the Santa Clara River. Elise Kelley, Santa Clara Watershed Conservancy 

2:10 - 2:30 PM

Integrated ecosystem-based steelhead and aquatic species management on the Santa Ynez River. Timothy Robinson, Cachuma Project Water Agencies

2:30 - 2:50 PM 

Passive monitoring techniques for steelhead migration in the Santa Clara River. Steve Howard, United Water Conservation District 

2:50 - 3:10 PM

Latitudinal variation in the early life history of the endangered tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi. Brenton Spies, California State University- Northridge

3:10 - 3:40 PM 

Break 

3:40 - 4:00 PM 

Tidewater goby(s) and the bay gobies in California and the Gulf of Calfornia –  Cryptic taxa, anthropogenic impacts and restoration conflicts. David Jacobs, University of California- Los Angeles

4:00 - 4:20 PM

Captive Santa Ana sucker (Catostomus santaanae) life history – The RCRCD raceway propagation system; relocation and care of Santa Ana suckers and other native fish. Kerwin Russell, Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District

4:20 - 4:40 PM

Status, distribution and habitat preferences of the federally threatened Santa Ana sucker (Catostomus santaanae). Jonathan Baskin, California State University- Pomona

4:40 - 5:00 PM

Evaluation of flow conditioning razorback sucker in flow-through raceways. Brandon Senger, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Fisheries Division

Technical Session 1: San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary (Moderator: Ted Sommer, California Department of Water Resources)

Salon E

1:30 - 1:50 PM

Development of captive refugial population for the endangered delta smelt. Joan Lindberg, Fish Conservation & Culture Laboratory, University of California- Davis 

1:50 - 2:10 PM

Long-term shifts in the lateral distribution of age-0 striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the San Francisco Estuary. Ted Sommer, California Department of Water Resources 

2:10 - 2:30 PM

Community structure of flooded island fish assemblages in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Matthew Young, University of California- Davis 

2:30 - 2:50 PM

Examining fish usage of recently restored salt marshes. Nicholas Buckmaster, University of California- Davis 

2:50 - 3:10 PM

A juvenile salmonid perspective on hydrodynamic conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: the relative influence of river inflows, tides and South Delta exports. Brad Cavallo, Cramer Fish Sciences

3:10 - 3:40 PM

Break

Technical Session 2: Fish and Aquatic Health (Moderator: Shawn Acuña, University of California- Davis)

Salon E

3:40 - 4:00 PM

Health and nutritional status of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in four submerged islands of the San Francisco Estuary. Shawn Acuña, University of California- Davis

4:00 - 4:20 PM

Mycobacterium spp. in delta smelt: Implications to management of captive and wild fish in the San Francisco Estuary. Dolores Baxa, University of California- Davis 

4:20 - 4:40 PM

Anthropogenic effects on fish in a Chesapeake sub-estuary. Philip Choy, University of California- Davis

4:40 - 5:00 PM

Determining environmental controls and ecological impacts of CyanoHABs in the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta – A multidisciplinary approach. Cecile Mioni, University of California- Santa Cruz

Technical Session 3:Streams to Rivers (Moderator: Larry Brown, US Geological Survey)

Salon F

1:30 - 1:50 PM

Critical role of seasonal tributaries for native fish and aquatic biota in the Sacramento River. Michael Marchetti, Saint Mary’s College of California

1:50 - 2:10 PM

Using indicator species to describe shifting communities and identify flow restoration opportunities in the Walker River watershed, California-Nevada. Chris Hogle, Desert Research Institute

2:10 - 2:30 PM

The increased importance of fish passage in seasonally disconnected river systems; Examples from the Cosumnes and Calaveras rivers. Donald Ratcliff, US Fish & Wildlife Service

2:30 - 2:50 PM

Trials and tribulations: The rocky road of restoration implementation, a case study. John Wikert, US Fish & Wildlife Service

2:50 - 3:10 PM

Modeling biological condition of California streams at statewide and regional geographic scales. Larry Brown, US Geological Survey

3:10 - 3:40 PM

Break

Technical Session 4:General Fish Biology (Moderator: Alicia Seesholtz, California Department of Water Resources)

Salon F

3:40 - 4:00 PM

Finally…“Real” green sturgeon data from the Feather River. Alicia Seesholtz, California Department of Water Resources

4:00 - 4:20 PM

Exploring the historical and current distribution of Pacific lamprey in California. Reid Stewart, Western Fishes

4:20 - 4:40 PM

Neither philopatric nor panmictic: microsatellite and mtDNA evidence suggest lack of natal homing but limits to dispersal in Pacific lamprey. Damon Goodman, US Fish & Wildlife Service

4:40 - 5:00 PM

Status of inland redband trout in northern California. David Lentz, California Department of Fish & Game

Reception

5:00 - 7:00 PM

Pavilion Patio

Banquet

7:00 PM - Midnight

Salons A-E

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Spawning Run

6:30 - 7:30 AM

San Diego River Trail: Across the street from the Mission Valley Marriott

Technical Session 5: Salmonids (Moderator: Mark Gard, US Fish & Wildlife Service)

Salon E

8:30 - 8:50 AM

The driving factors for salmonid populations in Lagunitas Creek. Gregory Andrew, Marin Municipal Water District

8:50 - 9:10 AM

Long term life cycle monitoring sets the stage for a testing the effects of using large wood to increase life stage specific abundance and survival of juvenile salmonids in a coastal northern California stream. Sean Gallagher, California Department of Fish & Game

9:10 - 9:30 AM

Size doesn’t matter: Validating length-at-date run assignments with genetics for Central Valley Chinook. Brett Harvey, California Department of Water Resources

9:30 - 9:50 AM

Migratory composition and maternal origin of natural and hatchery origin rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from the Lower Mokelumne River. Christopher Donohoe, University of California- Santa Cruz

9:50 - 10:10 AM

When to bolt? Fry or smolt: survivorship of juvenile migratory life histories using isotopes in otoliths. Rachel Johnson, US Bureau of Reclamation and University of California- Santa Cruz

10:10 - 10:40 AM

Break

Technical Session 6: Contributed Papers (Moderator: Meredith Nagel, University of Auckland)

Salon E

10:40 - 11:00 AM

Assessment of sport fishing as a vector for the spread of Quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis). Lisa Corvington, California Department of Fish & Game

11:00 - 11:20 AM

Population density influences variation in reproductive success, but not per-capita egg production of a temperate reef fish. Sara Kappus, University of California- Los Angeles

11:20 - 11:40 AM

Molecular evidence for population genetic subdivision in the New Zealand endemic sea urchin (Evechinus chloroticus). Meredith Nagel, University of Auckland

11:40 AM - 12:00 PM

Age, growth, mortality, and otolith morphology of white seabass in the southern California Bight. Michael Shane, Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute

Technical Session 7: Genetic Fisheries Management (Moderator: Brad Cavallo, Cramer Fish Sciences)

Salon F

8:30 - 8:50 AM

Historical biodiversity and species structure in California freshwater sculpin (Cottus). Jason Baumsteiger, University of California- Merced

8:50 - 9:10 AM

Conservation genetics of the Red Hills Roach (Cyprinidae: Lavinia symmetricus ssp). Morrell Chhay, University of California- Merced

9:10 - 9:30 AM

Genetic population structure of two non-native salmonids in a subalpine watershed. Jason Smith, University of Nevada- Reno

9:30 - 9:50 AM

High-throughput molecular identification of fish eggs. Ronald Burton, Scripps Institute of Oceanography

9:50 - 10:10 AM

Is lack of genetic diversity and fitness contributing to the decline wild (non-hatchery) Central Valley fall run Chinook? Brad Cavallo, Cramer Fish Sciences

10:10 - 10:40 AM

Break

Technical Session 8:Marine Protected Areas (Moderator: Russell Barabe, California Department of Fish & Game)

Salon F

10