The Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies

Hi everyone! My name is Hadley Weathers and I’m an Honors and Ecology student at Seattle Pacific University. This summer I worked with my mentors Tessa Code, Shelley Johnson, Jess Diallo, and Lisa Wetzel to investigate the effects of artificial light at night on juvenile sockeye salmon, particularly the impact on their feeding rates. I was interning at the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center the whole summer, where I did my data collection in the wet lab and gained hands-on experience. Our goal was to see how specifically juvenile sockeye salmon in Lake Washington were being impacted by the light pollution in the urban setting of the King County metro area. This research could help inform legislators, regulators, homeowners, boat users, and others who may unknowingly interact with these fish.

Juvenile sockeye salmon typically feed at dusk, but they are visual predators and require sight to find their prey. To simulate artificial light at night, we acclimated them to darkness in a shroud, then exposed them to a controlled amount of light and measured their feeding rate. I analyzed all of this data myself in RStudio, and found interesting correlations between light level and feeding rate.

When I wasn’t performing my trials or analyzing my data, I helped run predator-prey interaction trials in the wet lab, do zooplankton surveys of Lake Washington, perform dissections of lake Washington shad, and carry out everyday fish care for our stock species.

This summer I gained lots of experience in data analysis, independent lab research, field sampling work, and animal care and handling. I had the opportunity to work within and under an incredible and diverse team at USGS, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity CICOES gave me! I look forward to seeing how I can apply these skills in my future career!

Project Introduction

Research Poster