James T. Peterson Assistant Unit Leader (Fisheries) USGS Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit 104 Nash Hall, Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon 97331-3803 Phone: 541.737.1963 FAX: 541.737.3590 jt.peterson@oregonstate.edu

Professional Affiliations


Research Interests

My research focuses on multiple aspects of aquatic ecology- with an emphasis on stream fish communities. Most of my work has been in identifying and quantifying the effects of physical and biotic factors on stream fishes at multiple scales. This includes studies of population dynamics, community production, and fish-habitat/landscape relationships. Other aspects of my research include evaluating the efficiency of fish collection and population-estimation techniques and computer software development. I believe that the status of natural resources is dependent upon the ability to predict the impacts of environmental perturbations or differing management schemes. Thus, the principal goal of my research is to develop the tools and understanding necessary for effective and efficient fisheries management and conservation.

Courses taught 

Ecampus: FW537 & 537 Structured Decison Making for Natural Resources Management 

FW 544: Quantitative Decision Analysis for Fish and Wildlife Management

FW 599: An introduction to data management and R for Fisheries and Wildlife applications

Resources for Decision making in natural resource management: a structured, adaptive approach