Mentors & Lab: Paige Gardner- Palkovacs Lab
Positions: 1-2 interns
Tentative dates: Summer Quarter 2025, 7/21/25 – 09/19/25 (dates subject to change)
Project Location: California Coast, various; based at Coastal Campus but will travel to various field sites along the California coast (transportation and accommodation provided)
Project Background: If you want to spend your summer hiking and camping outdoors, working on a project contributing to the conservation of a threatened migratory fish then look no further! Climate change is warming habitats around the globe, including rivers and streams. Freshwater fish, such as salmon, rely on water temperature to regulate their bodies and survive. As waters warm, it places extra stress on fish populations and inhibits their abilities to maintain physiological and biological functions, such as reproduction, growth, foraging, and migration. Already, salmon populations across the West coast are in serious decline and many populations are listed on the Endangered Species Act. One potential way for fish to survive threats from climate-induced warming is to adapt to warm water conditions. We want to understand if steelhead trout (O. mykiss), a common species of salmon found from Alaska to Southern California, will be able to adapt to keep up with the rate of warming waters. To study this, we will be conducting a series of physiological experiments in the field, selecting sites from Southern to Northern California, to assess differences in thermal physiology between warm and cold streams. Some of the methods the selected intern(s) would get experience in would be: electrofishing, critical thermal maximum experiments, fish care and handling, physical habitat analysis, and data collection and analysis.
Intern duties: The duties of the intern will be field work dominant with some data analysis. The field work will involve field-based experiments in several streams containing steelhead trout. We will be camping at each field site for a period of 3-5 days. Interns will assist in thermal tolerance experiments as well as capturing, anesthetizing, measuring, photographing and fin clipping of fish. Interns will also assist in field preparations and data entry/quality analysis. Data analysis may focus on either fish samples or abiotic stream characteristics depending on the interests of the student.
Intern qualifications: The intern should be passionate about fish ecology and conservation and willing to learn. They should be a good team player and have strong initiative. We need someone who is physically fit, a solid hiker who is steady on their feet while carrying sometimes large and heavy equipment to remote areas. They should be comfortable hiking off trail and in streams. Although we do our best to minimize exposure to poison oak, it is common at many of our study sites and some contact is likely. The streams are typically shallower than 2m, but for extra safety, they should be able to swim. The intern should be willing to work sometimes long, strenuous days outside. The intern should be comfortable around dissections and dead fish. The intern should be comfortable camping and being in the field for 5 days at a time with limited access to amenities. The intern should be available for the duration of the internship, as field work is dependent on the whole crew being present.
Do you recommend the intern(s) volunteer in your lab during Spring quarter?
Not necessary.