Rachel Field

Current position: MSc student

Degrees:

BSc Biology Major, Psychology Minor

(University of Victoria)

Email: rdf1@sfu.ca

My Research

My main research interests currently lie in the realms of salmon ecology and conservation, specifically surrounding the interactions between species at the marine-terrestrial interface. My MSc project spawned from knowledge of the massive pulse of Pacific salmon that enters coastal ecosystems around the north Pacific Rim each fall, contributing a unique nutrient subsidy to these ecosystems when salmon spawn and die. Salmon stocks in many regions have been plummeting for decades and, as a result, there has been increased scientific attention to how salmon-derived nutrients affect plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate communities in freshwater and riparian habitats. To date, there are few studies that have attempted to measure salmon-derived nutrients in the estuarine environment, and I know of no studies that have examined the relationship between estuarine bird communities and salmon. To address this, I have conducted extensive surveys of birds, vegetation, salmon carcasses, and habitat features in estuaries around Bella Bella, British Columbia. Surveys took place in the summer during the bird breeding season and in the fall during the salmon run to test for potential effects of stored salmon-derived nutrients and direct feeding from salmon carcasses, respectively, on the density and diversity of estuarine bird communities. Determining if and how salmon affect estuarine bird communities is important for the expansion of knowledge regarding the cascading of salmon-derived nutrients through food chains and habitats.