Dr. Jordan Rosenfeld
stream ecology Scientist (BC Ministry of Environment)
I am a research biologist with the Conservation Science Section, B.C. Ministry of Environment, located on the University of British Columbia campus. I am a stream ecologist with a broad background of research in running waters. My central interests are the effects of habitat on ecological processes, and how this information can be used to inform conservation strategies through understanding landscape and microhabitat constraints on fish distribution and abundance. Specific research is focused on modelling fish habitat, optimal stream flows, bioenergetic modelling of drift-feeding fish growth, habitat restoration, and understanding how habitat structure changes along the river continuum.
For more details on the research my lab is involved in visit my research page and publications. If you would like to become involved in our work, please contact me at
jordan.rosenfeld{at}gov.bc.ca 604-398-5007
Applied Aquatic Research Unit, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4.
graduate opportunities
I welcome enquiries from interested students who have the motivation to pursue graduate work in freshwater conservation and ecology. I currently have no fully funded graduate opportunities associated with specific projects available, but will post them here as opportunities arise.
Current graduate students
Gauthier Monnet (Ph.D.) - gauthier.monnet@gmail.com Ecological and metabolic tradeoffs in juvenile salmonids (co-supervisor - Dr. Jeff Richards, UBC Dept. of Zoology)
Adaptive tradeoffs in energy metabolism, growth, and physiology are driven by selection on ecology and life-history. I am using salmonids as model taxa to identify dominant adaptive tradeoffs in physiology and energy metabolism, and the resulting multivariate axes that define adaptation of phenotypes along environmental gradients.
Sean Naman (Ph.D) - naman@zoology.ubc.ca Energy flow and trophic interactions in streams; implications of drift production for habitat capacity of drift-feeding fishes (co-supervisor - Dr. John Richardson, UBC Forest Sciences)
It is well known that production of stream rearing salmonids is limited by both habitat and food availability. However, while much attention has been given to habitat limitation, many of the factors that control food availability (invertebrate drift) remain poorly understood. This represents an important source of uncertainty for both the basic stream ecology and fisheries management. My work attempts to improve this situation. Specifically, I aim to better understand i) how invertebrate drift varies with habitat structure; ii) how habitat and flow interact with invertebrate behaviour to determine trophic fluxes; iii) how habitat patch configuration determines trophic transfer and productive capacity; and iv) to test assumptions of current habitat assessment models (e.g. drift foraging bioenergetics models) with empirical data. I completed a B.Sc. at Western Washington University in 2009 then did a stint with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle, WA before starting graduate school at UBC in 2012.
Sean Naman Publications (for a complete list see https://seannaman.wordpress.com/publications/ )
Naman SM, Kiffney PM, Pess GR, Buehrens TW, Bennett TR. 2014. Abundance and body condition of sculpin (Cottus spp.) in a small forest stream during period of recolonization by juvenile coho salmon. River Research and Applications.30:360-371
Rosenfeld JS, Bouwes N, Wall CE, Naman SM. 2014. Successes, failures and opportunities in the practical applications of drift foraging models. Environmental Biology of Fishes. 97:551-574
Kiffney PM, Buhle ER, Naman SM, Pess GR, Klett RS. 2014. Linking resource availability, habitat structure and local density to individual traits of stream organisms: An experimental and observational assessment. Ecosphere 5(4):39 http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00269.1
Buehrens TW, Kiffney PM, Pess GR, Bennett TR, Naman SM, Brooks G, Quinn TP. 2014. Increasing densities of juvenile coho salmon colonists do not affect resident cutthroat trout growth, movement or survival. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 34:892-907
Lab Alumni
(all theses are available at http://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/24 )
Mike Champion (M.Sc.) Effects of fine sediment inputs and substrate attributes on growth and habitat associations of endangered Nooksack dace
Dave Allen (M.Sc.) - Physiological basis of growth-performance trade-offs: insights from different strains of rainbow trout
Stephanie Avery-Gomm (M.Sc.) - Determining the impacts of hydrological drought on endangered Nooksack dace (Rhinichthys cataractae) at the population and individual level : Implications for minimum environmental flow requirements
Antoine Leduc (postdoc) – Functional redundancy and complementarily in fish assemblages; behavior and chemosensory perception in fishes
Gerrit Velema (M.Sc.) - Investigating the role of invasive American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) in the collapse of the benthic-limnetic threespine stickleback species pair (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in Enos Lake, British Columbia
Chad Ormond (M.Sc.) - Environmental determinants of threespine stickleback species pair evolution and persistence
Travis Van Leeuwen (M.Sc.) - Variation in metabolic rate between individuals and species : cryptic physiological tradeoffs underlying habitat partitioning and life history strategies of juvenile salmonids
Sandra Nicol (M.Sc.) - Influence of physical and biological habitat variables on juvenile salmonid and invertebrate drift abundance in southwest British Columbia streams
Michelle Roberge (M.Sc.) - Influence of physical habitat on the seasonal movement, growth, and habitat association of individual coastal cutthroat trout