J.A. Miller

Oregon State University | OSU · Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Hatfield Marine Science Center

Long-distance life rafting When coastal ecosystems are affected by storms or tsunamis, organisms can be rafted across oceans on floating debris. However, such events are rarely observed, still less quantified. Carlton et al. chart the rafting journeys of coastal marine organisms across the Pacific Ocean after the 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsun...

Biofouled debris from the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami has landed in the Northeast Pacific and along the Hawaiian Islands since 2012. As of 2017, >630 biofouled debris items with >320 living species of algae, invertebrates, and fish have been examined. The invasive mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis was present on >50% of those items....

The application and utility of otolith chemistry continues to expand despite an incomplete understanding of the mechanisms that regulate elemental incorporation. An unresolved question is what role individual factors such as growth play in regulating elemental incorporation. Disentangling growth variation from thermal effects is particularly challe...

Early naturalists suggested that predation intensity increases toward the tropics, affecting fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes by latitude, but empirical support is still limited. Several studies have measured consumption rates across latitude at large scales, with variable results. Moreover, how predation affects prey community com...

A prerequisite to effectively managing fish populations is to understand what factors and processes, including predation and changing environments, affect the survival of individuals. In anadromous fishes, the transition from freshwater to marine habitats is considered a critical period regulating population abundance due to high and variable morta...

Early naturalists suggested that predation intensity increases toward the tropics, affecting fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes by latitude, but empirical support is still limited. Several studies have measured consumption rates across latitude at large scales, with variable results. Moreover, how predation affects prey community com...

Early naturalists suggested that predation intensity increases toward the tropics, affecting fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes by latitude, but empirical support is still limited. Several studies have measured consumption rates across latitude at large scales, with variable results. Moreover, how predation affects prey community com...

Oceanic sandy beach surf zones extend from the shoreline to the waters past the outer-most breaker and are categorized based on how wave energy is released. In a dissipative beach, wave energy is dissipated by breaking multiple times within the zone, while in a reflective beach, where the wave only breaks once, energy is reflected off the beach slo...

Quantifying the spatial and temporal footprint of multiple environmental stressors on marine fisheries is imperative to understanding the effects of changing ocean conditions on living marine resources. Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus), an important marine species in the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem, has declined dramatically in recent years, likely i...

Important variability exists in life history attributes among localized populations of Coastal Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii in relation to geographic and environmental factors. Describing the life history of locally adapted populations is critical to successful fishery management and conservation. The number of annuli and distance b...

The effect of extrinsic (environmentally based) and intrinsic (physiologically based) controls on otolith elemental signatures remains poorly understood. We evaluated the relative importance of both extrinsic and intrinsic factors using juvenile fish in Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) mangroves. To assess extrinsic influences, we compared the cohabi...

Variation in prey quantity and quality can influence growth and survival of marine predators, including anadromous fish that migrate from freshwater systems. The objective of this study was to examine the energy dynamics of subyearling Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) following freshwater emigration. To address this objective, a population...

The direct and indirect effects of ocean acidification (OA) on marine ecosystems are a growing concern. Studies with marine fishes suggest that elevated CO2 may affect behavior by interfering with an important brain neurotransmitter. OA effects on fish behavior are comparatively understudied in temperate and boreal species. In laboratory experiment...

In the southeast Bering Sea, age-0 Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus primarily occupy 2 distinct habitat types: shallow, coastal waters along the central Alaska Peninsula and surface waters over the broad continental shelf. We examined functional aspects of habitat use by describing regional and habitat-specific variation in feeding and growth energe...

Nearly 300 coastal marine species collected from >630 debris items from the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami have landed alive along the North American Pacific coast and the Hawaiian Archipelago. We synthesized life history, environmental, and distributional traits for 103 of these species and compared species with (n=30) and without (n...

Twelve species of sponges (Calcarea and Demospongiae) were found on Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris (JTMD) that washed ashore in Oregon, Washington, and Hawai‘i. All taxa but one determined to species level are amphi-Pacific, with three having type localities in California (Leucosolenia eleanor Urban, 1906, Hymeniacidon sinapium de Laubenfels, 1930,...

Twenty-eight species of hydroids are now known from Japanese tsunami marine debris (JTMD) sent to sea in March 2011 from the Island of Honshu and landing between 2012 and 2016 in North America and Hawai‘i. To 12 JTMD hydroid species previously reported, we add an additional 16 species. Fourteen species (50%) were detected only once; given the small...

The Western Pacific Ocean barred knifejaw Oplegnathus fasciatus was found from 2013 to 2015 along the Pacific Coast of North America from Washington to California. The knifejaw was found in derelict vessels that had arrived on the Pacific Coast and that had been lost during the March 2011 Great Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Knifejaw were also found...

Trace element analysis has emerged as a powerful tool to elucidate past movement and habitat use in aquatic animals, but has been underutilized in studies of non-fish species. When applied to sequentially deposited tissues (e.g. fish otoliths, sea turtle humerus bone), the technique can be used to infer aspects of an individual’s ecology through ti...

A three-phase experiment measured the effects of prey quality and fasting on juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) performance. The first phase was designed to evaluate the effect of dietary levels of two essential fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), on salmon growth. Salmon were reared for 12 weeks...

Shallow coastal waters of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) serve as nursery habitats for young-of-year Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus). However, little is known regarding the relative contribution of these areas to the adult offshore stock. Trace elements incorporated into the otolith matrix can reflect the environmental conditions to which a fish has be...

There is strong correlative evidence that variation in the growth and survival of secondary consumers is related to the copepod species composition within the Northern California Current. Potential mechanisms driving these correlations include: 1) enhanced growth and survival of secondary consumers when lipid-rich, boreal copepod species are abunda...

Variations in marine prey availability and nutritional quality can affect juvenile salmon growth and survival during early ocean residence. Salmon growth, and hence survival, may be related to the onset of piscivory, but there is limited knowledge on the interplay between the prey field, environment, and salmon ontogeny. Subyearling Chinook Salmon...

Early life history traits in marine fish such as growth, size, and timing of life history transitions often vary in response to environmental conditions. Identifying the potential effects of trait variation across life history stages is critical to understanding growth, recruitment, and survival. Juvenile northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra...

For many marine ecosystems, uncertainty about nursery locations and the spatial dynamics of juvenile fish impedes our understanding of fish production. Walleye pollock Gadus chalcogrammus occur throughout the coastal North Pacific Ocean and support some of the world's largest fisheries. We used otolith microchemistry to answer questions about wheth...

Habitat heterogeneity can influence biological communities by providing a diversity of areas that can be occupied by different species. Sandy beach surf zones are often considered homogenous environments; however, sand bars moved by currents and waves can produce trench-like shapes or troughs that provide heterogeneity. The influence of habitat het...

Distinguishing individual natal origins of highly dispersive species is essential for quantifying the extent of connectivity among spatially separated groups. Variation in the chemical composition of calcified structures has been used to determine natal origins of many organisms but the utility of this approach to sharks and rays has only recently...

Ocean currents or temperature may substantially influence migration behavior in many marine species. However, high-resolution data on animal movement in the marine environment are scarce; therefore, analysts and managers must typically rely on unvalidated assumptions regarding movement, behavior, and habitat use. We used a spatially explicit, indiv...

Sandy beach surf zones serve as alternative nursery habitats for juvenile Chinook salmon (0 age) during their early marine residency, a period considered critical due to high and variable mortality rates. Despite the importance of early marine residence, the extent of juvenile salmon surf zone use and movement along sandy beaches is not well unders...

Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) is a facultatively anadromous and iteroparous salmonid species, widely distributed around the Pacific Rim. Its distribution overlaps in northern areas with the circumpolar congeneric Arctic char (S. alpinus), which shares some of its life history traits. Despite the abundance of both species in many Alaskan watershed...

Across animal taxa, migration allows individuals to exploit habitats and resources that predictably vary seasonally in suitability. Theory predicts that the 'decision' to migrate or not is shaped by the relative fitness costs and benefits of exhibiting a given life history. Adoption of a migratory strategy is widely thought to reflect a dichotomous...

The underlying causes of mortality during critical life stages of fish are not well understood, nor is it clear if these causes are similar for naturally versus artificially propagated (i.e. hatchery) individuals. To assess the importance of selective mortality related to production type (hatchery vs. naturally produced) and size at and timing of m...

Fourteen species of hydroids, including two anthoathecates and 12 leptothecates, are reported from the west coast of North America on debris from the tsunami that struck Japan on 11 March 2011. Six species were found on a dock that stranded at Agate Beach, Newport, Oregon, five from a boat at Gleneden Beach, Oregon, four from a dock in Olympic Nati...

The community of trophically transmitted marine parasites of juvenile coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) salmon across 8 years (2002–2009) was related to indices of physical and biological ocean conditions and adult returns. When the biomass of lipid-poor, southern origin copepods in the coastal ocean was high during...

Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) in the southeastern Bering Sea aggregate at discrete spawning locations but there is little information on patterns of larval dispersal and the relative contribution of specific spawning areas. Age-0 Pacific cod from two cohorts were examined to determine: if size, age, and otolith chemistry vary among capture loca...

Early coho salmon life history has been described as consisting of a single strategy: freshwater residence for the first year of life followed by yearling smolt migration to sea during second spring of life. However, during the last decade evidence began to accumulate suggesting that subyearling migrant coho salmon could represent an alternative li...

Research on regulatory mechanisms in biological populations often focuses on environmental covariates. An integrated approach that combines environmental indices with organismal-level information can provide additional insight on regulatory mechanisms. Survival of spring/summer Snake River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is consistently l...

This study evaluated the importance of the environment and spatial distribution of juvenile fish for the adoption of alternative migratory tactics in a partially anadromous population of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from the Santa Cruz River. We captured young-of-the-year fish along the river during autumn 2009, 2010 and spring 2010 and dete...

Relative to extensive research on the freshwater stages of steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss life history, little is known about the species’ estuarine and early marine phases despite the decline of numerous populations, including several from the Columbia River. Comparisons of the distribution, diet, and growth of juvenile steelhead collected during s...

We determined whether the propensity for anadromy was related to maternal phenotype in a population of partially anadromous rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). We identified the maternal phenotype (anadromous versus resident) of wild juveniles from two successive cohorts using stable isotope analysis (�15N) of muscle tissue and (or) strontium to c...

Differences in the chemical composition of calcified skeletal structures (e.g. shells, otoliths) have proven useful for reconstructing the environmental history of many marine species. However, the extent to which ambient environmental conditions can be inferred from the elemental signatures within the vertebrae of elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, ra...

We evaluated the relative importance of “bottom4up” (production4limited) and “top4 down” (predator4mediated) processes during early marine residence in a population of Chinook salmon from the upper Columbia River, USA. We examined length, mass, and condition index of age-0 juveniles collected in the ocean during June and September across 11 years i...

As atmospheric concentrations of CO2 rise, the pH of high-latitude oceans is predicted to decrease by 0.3 to 0.5 units by 2100. Several biological consequences of ocean acidification across this pH range have already been documented in invertebrates and tropical marine fishes. However, little work has been done examining potential responses of the...

Juvenile yearling Chinook salmon emigrating from the Columbia River, USA, tend to migrate north towards British Columbia and Alaska. However, coastal currents in this area generally flow southward during spring and summer. Do salmon initiate an energetically-expensive positive rheotactic migration with the genetic ‘knowledge’ that feeding condition...

Background/Question/Methods The life history of diadromous fishes is characterized by major habitat transitions. However the timing of these transitions can vary, sometimes for unknown reasons. Chinook salmon use estuaries as nursery habitat during their first spring and summer of life, which is also considered a critical period in their life his...

Background/Question/Methods Many populations of Pacific salmon in modified watersheds are not meeting recovery goals, and conservation efforts would benefit from a better understanding of factors limiting productivity. We combined field, laboratory, and modeling approaches to evaluate the relative importance of “bottom-up” (production-limited) an...

Early ocean residence is considered a critical period for juvenile salmon although specific survival mechanisms are often unidentified and may vary by species or life stage. Columbia River spring-run Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha abundance has declined dramatically since the early 1900s. To elucidate mechanisms of early marine survival, w...

Hurst, T. P., Moss, J. H., and Miller, J. A. 2012. Distributional patterns of 0-group Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) in the eastern Bering Sea under variable recruitment and thermal conditions. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 163–174. Despite the importance of Pacific cod in Bering Sea fisheries and foodwebs, little is known about the habi...

Many natural materials exhibit complex variations in chemical or isotopic composition over relatively short length scales, and these compositional variations often record important information about the environment or nature of the processes that lead to formation. Examples include complexly zoned crystals within volcanic rocks that record magmatic...

Correlative evidence indicates that factors during early marine residence influence subsequent salmon survival although specific mechanisms of mortality remain elusive. It is also suggested that the timing of marine entrance influences growth and survival although there are few empirical data to robustly evaluate this hypothesis. We examined variat...

Fish remains from archaeological sites represent an important source of knowledge about pre-development species distribution. The archaeological record of salmonids in the Upper Klamath Basin (Oregon/California) illustrates this value particularly well, given: a) major habitat destruction occurred prior to any systematic biological surveys; b) the...

Determining anadromy in teleost fishes via otolith microchemistry using Sr/Ca, and to a lesser extent Ba/Ca, has become an established technique in life history studies. One underlying assumption of this concept is that diet is a minimal contributor to Sr precipitation in otoliths and that fluctuating elemental ratios in the water (Sr high in salt...

Loss of life history diversity is often implicated as a cause for population decline in anadromous fishes. Habitat loss or alterations often prevent studies of fishes where the entire suite of life histories is still present. In these cases we must resort to historical reconstructions or modeling to determine what life histories may have occurred i...

Population structure of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) in the southeastern Bering Sea (EBS) remains unresolved although genetic data indicate isolation-by-distance. Chemical analysis of otoliths can provide relevant information on mixing among groups of fish on ecologically-relevant time scales and at finer spatial scales than genetic analyses....

Differences in the chemical composition of calcified structures are used to reconstruct environmental history and reveal natal origins, dispersal patterns, and metapopulation structure of many marine organisms. Because the use of discrete nursery areas is common among elasmobranchs, distinctive chemical markers may be incorporated into the vertebra...

Studies based on variation in otolith elemental composition have become common although the regulatory mechanisms of incorporation have yet to be fully elucidated. Laboratory studies on two marine (black rockfish Sebastes melanops and Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus) and an anadromous (Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) fish species were comp...

During summer, juvenile Chinook salmon are present in estuaries, adjacent sandy beach surf-zones and the coastal ocean. Although early marine residence is considered an important period, there is little information on the role of surf zones as a habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon. As part of a larger project using distribution, diet, and growth of...

Conservation planning often occurs only after a species has been extirpated from portions of its historical range and limited information is available on life history diversity prior to development. To provide information on Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) life history before and after local extirpation, we examined the chemical (87Sr:86S...

Conservation planning often occurs only after a species has been extirpated from portions of its historical range and limited information is available on life history diversity prior to development. To provide information on Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) life history before and after local extirpation, we examined the chemical (87Sr:86S...

We explore the possibility of predicting the commercial catch of Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) from the abundance of returning megalopae. In the first six years of a nine-year time series (1997-2001, 2006-2009), there is a strong relationship between megalopal abundance and Oregon commercial catch, and early spring transitions led to higher num...