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Jeff Baldock - Evaluating the Role of Spring-Fed Streams to Snake River Cutthroat Trout.

"Support from the Biodiversity Institute affirms my ability as an early-career scientist and indicates broader interest in the research questions I pursue and the approaches I employ. Funding from the Biodiversity Institute will allow for continued investigation and data collection during a time of logistical uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic. My goal as a scientist is to bridge the gap between basic and applied science, using my results to inform sustainable fisheries management strategies and engage the public in fish and wildlife conservation. Financial support from organizations such as the Biodiversity Institute is crucial for sustaining and preserving Wyoming’s unique ecosystems in a future defined by environmental change and uncertainty."

Jeff Baldock

Biodiversity Graduate Student Research Enhancement Grant Awardee 

Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Program in Ecology, Departmentof Zoology and Physiology
Graduate Advisor: Annika Walters

Streams and rivers of the Rocky Mountain region are characterized by harsh environmental conditions (e.g., flooding, drought, and ice formation) that limit the growth and production of fishes such cutthroat trout. However, groundwater input buffers spring-fed streams against seasonal variability in water temperature and discharge such that suitable habitat may persist year-round. I aim to evaluate the role of spring-fed streams to Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the upper Snake River watershed of northwest Wyoming. I will (1) quantify how groundwater input determines the capacity of streams to support juvenile cutthroat trout growth and production and (2) determine how groundwater input to streams regulates the demography of the mainstem Snake River metapopulation. This research will highlight how habitat and population diversity act to sustain Yellowstone cutthroat trout during a critical life stage. This research has direct implications for prioritizing costly habitat management strategies as it will highlight streams where habitat work will have the most impact.

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