Sufficient healthy and diverse habitat is key to supporting Pacific salmon recovery and resilient future populations. Ecosystem function is complex, however, and assessing landscapes in terms of their value to recovering Pacific salmon populations is not straightforward. Our team at NOAA Fisheries is working on developing a Freshwater Habitat Calculator, analogous to one currently in development for estuary habitats, to quantify the habitat value of any stream reach within its current and historic floodplain (i.e., a riverscape) to support decision-making and restoration efforts. Inherent in such a tool is a fundamental understanding of the characteristics, processes, and interactions in healthy functioning riverscapes. We propose development of a riverscape network model to map interactions among riverscape components as a way to not only identify key leverage points within the ecosystem, but also to begin to determine the kinds of datasets that we would need to pass into our calculator.
We are seeking 2 interns to lead development of this riverscape network model. Tasks likely include a literature review exploring Pacific salmon freshwater habitat, riverscape health and function, and network models of other natural systems. Interns will have opportunities to engage with the Freshwater Habitat Calculator team, the Estuary Calculator team, and others at the Northwest Center. Successful interns may also find opportunities to pursue interests in exploring and processing relevant datasets.