Contact Information
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences123 O'Neill
P.O. Box 757220
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220
Phone: (907) 474-7458
rosenberger@sfos.uaf.edu
Amanda Rosenberger Assistant Professor
Affiliations
- American Fisheries Society
- Sigma Xi
Specialties
- Fish habitat modeling
- Threatened and endangered fish
- Stream fish sampling and sampling validation
- Effects of wildfire on fish
Education
- B.A. 1994 Simon's Rock College of Bard (Environmental Studies)
- M.S. 1997 University of Florida (Zoology)
- Ph.D. 2003 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Fisheries Biology)
Courses
Spring 2008
- S/T: Fish Ecology (FISH F493)
Fall 2008
- Exp. Learning: Fisheries Internship (FISH F490)
- Fish Ecology (FISH F425)
- Fisheries Senior Thesis (FISH F499)
- Introduction to Fisheries (FISH F101)
Research Overview
My research interests are in the ecology and conservation of freshwater fishes with an emphasis on the role of ecological processes in shaping fish distributions, population characteristics, and community structure. Conservation problems are best addressed at multiple scales; therefore, I am interested in the spatial and temporal dynamics of these patterns at both local and landscape scales. I am particularly interested in investigating mechanistic relationships between fish and physical and biotic features of the environment and how nonnative species can alter those relationships.
Current Research Projects
- Fall Chum Distribution and Spawning Habitat Preferences in the Upper Tanana River (AYKSSI)
The Tanana River, the largest tributary of the Yukon River, hosts large runs of fall chum salmon that support important subsistence, personal use, and commercial fisheries. The river itself is heavily silted during the summer and extremely braided, and therefore difficult to monitor. However, there is evidence that the upper mainstem river could host a significant number of spawning fall chum salmon, potentially enough to contribute substantially to the total Tanana River fall chum salmon spawning escapement. The upper Tanana River is potentially vulnerable to a variety of human impacts, including urban growth, development of agriculture, timber, mineral, and petroleum resources, and road building. In order to adequately protect Tanana River chum salmon runs, it will be important to more fully understand the importance of its upper mainstem for chum salmon spawning and determine which habitat serve as important spawning grounds for this species. The purpose of this project is to: 1)Document and establish the presence of spawning adult fall chum salmon in mainstem habitats of the upper Tanana River; 2)Characterize habitats that support chum salmon spawning in that area; 3)Develop predictive models of spawning habitats for identifying potential mainstem spawning sites. The project will use a combination of field reconnaissance and radio telemetry techniques to identify areas where chum salmon are spawning, and a combination of remote sensing techniques and aerial surveys to describe habitat characteristics throughout the drainage to and model habitat characteristics of chum salmon spawning areas. Lead M.S. Student: Lisa South. Lead Investigator: Bonnie Borba. Co-investigators and cooperators: Joe Margraf, Rich Driscoll, Hamachan Hamazaki, Will Putman, Jeff Adams, Brandy Berkbigler, David Daum, Eric Volk, Randy Brown, and others) - Wintering Ecology of Juvenile Coho salmon (Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (Pending))
Little is known about the ecology of wintering coho populations in southcentral Alaska. Extensive sampling by Daniel Rinella (Environment and Natural Resources Institute, University of Alaska, Anchorage) and Coowe Walker (Watershed Sepcialist, Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, ADFG Sportfish Division) in the Anchor River and other Kenai Peninsula streams has indicated that, during winter periods, juvenile coho are found almost exclusively in off-channel ponds and alcoves with groundwater inputs. Their observations suggest that a substantial proportion of the Anchor River’s wintering coho may be concentrated in a few discreet areas, which may make this population especially vulnerable to habitat changes. In cooperation with myself and with Tammy Hoem, a PhD student working under my supervision, Rinnella and Walker propose to complete work that will further our understanding of the relationship between wintering habitats and the density, survival, and fitness of juvenile coho. This work will inform conservation and restoration of critical coho habitat. We propose to use recapture data of PIT-tagged juvenile coho to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of density and overwinter survival and assess variation in density and overwinter survival relative to habitat type, water temperature, water chemistry, macroinvertebrate density, diet, and length at capture. Furthermore, we will examine the effects of the above mentioned variables on size and body composition at smolting. This work will characterize critical wintering habitats and, coupled with a remote sensing survey of off-channel habitats, will provide a basin-scale assessment of the relative importance of different habitat types. PhD Student leading the project: Tammy Hoem. Principal Investigators and Key Project Personel: Daniel Rinella, Coowe Walker, Amanda Rosenberger, Andrew Balser, Steve Baird. - Fisheries and Changing Climate in the Yukon Flats (seeking additional funds, EPSCoR, UAF fellowship)
The Yukon Flats region of Alaska appears to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The area, which has over 40,000 lakes in the National Wildlife Refuge alone, is experiencing landscape-level changes in lake volume due to altered river flow regimes, melting of permafrost, and wholesale loss of permafrost. Permafrost loss leads to hillslope failures and thermokarsts, which can add sediment to stream and river systems. Warming could also lead to decreased connectivity of aquatic habitats, changes in water chemistry and nutrient fluxes, and changes in ice-cover patterns. Wildfire is also likely to become more common in the flats area and has potential to exacerbate or accelerate physical changes to aquatic environments. In order to strategically and proactively protect fishery resources, managers in the basin require an understanding of ecological processes that are important for fish population PhD student leading the project: Stan Treibenbach; Co-Investigators: Anupma Prakash and Joe Margraf; Project Cooperators: Mark Bertram, Randy Brown, Wennona Brown, and Paul Williams - The effects of wildfire and ecological context on fish populations in the Boise National Forest (The National Fire Plan)
In 2002, the Boise Aquatic Sciences Laboratory initiated a multi-year study of the effects of wildfire and ecological context on aquatic biological diversity. Products from this work will assist management by providing new tools for monitoring stream-living aquatic vertebrate (fish and amphibian) responses to fire, predicting the effects of wildfire on nonnative species invasions, and predicting the effects of wildfire on native species and species assemblages. (Collaborators: Jason Dunham, Bruce Rieman, Helen Neville, Steve Railsback, Bret Harvey, Mark Wipfli)
Current Students
 |
Scott Ayers M.S. Thesis Topic: Species status and ecology of Salvelinus in the Brooks Range of North America, with Emphasis on Angayukaksurak Charr (Salvelinus anaktuvukensis). s.ayers@sfos.uaf.edu |
 |
Stan Triebenbach PhD Dissertation topic: Characterization and dynamics of peripheral aquatic habitats (lakes, sloughs, and backwaters) in the middle Yukon River drainage: implications for permanent and seasonal use by fish. ftspt@uaf.edu |
 |
Lisa South (co-advised with Dr. Joe Margraf) |
 |
Tammy Hoem (co-advised with Dr. Trent Sutton) |
Curriculum Vitae
Download PDF (300 KB)
Selected Publications
Roberts, J.H., A. E. Rosenberger, B.W. Albanese, and P.L. Angermeier. 2007. Movement patterns of endangered Roanoke logperch (Percina rex). Ecology of Freshwater Fish. Available Online doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0633.2007.00288.x 1. Download PDF (224 KB)
Swenson, E.A., A.E. Rosenberger, and P.J. Howell. 2007. Validation of endoscopy for non-lethal determination of maturity of small brook trout. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 136:994-998. Download PDF (53 KB)
Dunham, J.B., A.E. Rosenberger, C.H. Luce, and B.E. Rieman. 2007. Influences of wildfire and channel reorganization on spatial and temporal variation in stream temperature and the distribution of fish and amphibians. Ecosystems 10:335-346. Download PDF (545 KB)
Rosenberger, A.E. and J.B. Dunham. 2005. Validation of abundance estimates from mark–recapture and removal techniques for rainbow trout captured by electrofishing in small streams. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 25:1395–1410. Download PDF (510 KB)
Wheeler, A.P., P.L. Angermeier, and A.E. Rosenberger. 2005. Impacts of new highways and subsequent landscape urbanization on stream habitat and biota. Reviews in Fisheries Science 13: 141-164. Download PDF (2.51 MB)
Angermeier, P.L., A.P. Wheeler, and A.E. Rosenberger. 2004. A conceptual framework for assessing impacts of roads on aquatic biota. Fisheries 29:19-29. Download PDF (850 KB)
Rosenberger, A.E. and P.L. Angermeier. 2003. Ontogenetic shifts in habitat use by the endangered Roanoke logperch (Percina rex). Freshwater Biology 48:1563-1577. Download PDF (760 KB)
Whittaker, D. and A.E. Rosenberger. 2000. On creating a fertile academic atmosphere in fisheries and wildlife schools. Wildlife Society Bulletin 28:1176-1180. Download PDF (3.1 MB)
Rosenberger, A.E. and L.J. Chapman. 2000. Respiratory characters of three haplochromine cichlid species: implications for persistence in wetland refugia. Journal of Fish Biology 57:483-501. Download PDF (210 KB)
Walsh, S.J., L.J. Chapman, A.E. Rosenberger, and C.A. Chapman. 2000. Redescription and ecology of Amphilius jacksonii (Siluriformes: Amphiliidae), a hillstream catfish of western Uganda. Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters 11:163-174. Download PDF (710 KB)
Rosenberger, A.E. and L.J. Chapman. 1999. Hypoxic wetland tributaries as faunal refugia from an introduced predator. Ecology of Freshwater Fishes 8:22-34. Download PDF (1.0 MB)
Chapman, L.J., C.A. Chapman, R. Ogutu-Ohwayo, M. Chandler, L. Kaufman, and A.E. Keiter. 1996. Refugia for endangered fishes from an introduced predator in Lake Nabugabo, Uganda. Conservation Biology 10:554-561.
Reports
Rosenberger, A.E. 2007. An update to the Roanoke logperch (Percina rex) recovery plan. Report to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Virginia Field Office, Gloucester, VA . Download PDF (600 KB)
Rosenberger, A.E. and P.L. Angermeier. 2002. Roanoke logperch (Percina rex) population structure and habitat use. Final Report to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Blacksburg, VA. Download PDF (30 KB)