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Taylor Ranch
Wilderness Field Station
University of Idaho
HC 83 Box 8070
Cascade, ID 83611
Satellite Phone:
1-254-543-9291
Fax at Arnold Aviation:
208-382-3941
Email:
tayranch@hughes.net
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| Undergraduate Research |
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Michael Lance
Pursing B.S. Fisheries
Idaho State University
DeVlieg Undergraduate Research Scholar 2006
"The Ecological Significance of Mountain Whitefish in a Central Idaho Wilderness Stream"
Research Proposal
Abstract
Organisms that may be ecologically important are often overlooked if they have not been perceived as being beneficial to humans or aesthetically appealing. Mountain whitefish (Prosopium villiamsoni) are among the most abundant native fishes in western Nothern America, yet their ecological role is largely unknown because they have not been considered a valuable game fish. I propose to investigate the ecological significance of mountain whitefish in Big Creek, a wilderness watershed in central Idaho. In this study I will use underwater counts and hook and line surveys to determine whitefish distribution and abundance and estimate their biomass, nutrient, and energy contributions within the aquatic ecosystem that has not experienced major human landscape modification. I began my field research work in the spring of 2006.
 
 
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