John Jorgensen, PhD
I’m looking to better understand the correlation between restoration actions and their effectiveness in recovering natural production of imperiled, anadromous salmonids. Specifically, those actions contributing to increasing habitat carrying capacity of salmon and steelhead in lotic ecosystems. To better identify these density dependent limitations, I designed field-based stream experiments as well as data analysis tools to detangle this complex process. Using an empirical, bioenergetic approach, through the application of quantitative food web models, I hope to tease out specific routing mechanisms limiting natural production of early rearing life-stages.
With the goal of using knowledge gained from academic research to contribute to regional recovery efforts of federally endangered species, project analysis tools are being developed for greater ease and application by resource managers. These types of quantitative food web analysis are often prohibitive given the complexity in model estimators. Using a series of separate and combined analysis modules, constructed as R packages I hope to provide a rigorous, more transparent process by which these limitations are diagnosed, ultimately increasing the effectiveness of restoration prescriptions.
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