Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Earth & Marine Sciences A308
Phone: 831.459.5358
Fax: 831.459.5353
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R. BRUCE MACFARLANE Adjunct Professor of EEBiology B.S. Pennsylvania State University M.S. Florida State University Ph.D. Florida State University MACFARLANE LAB

Fisheries Ecology Division Southwest Fisheries Science Center 110 Shaffer Road Santa Cruz, CA 95060 phone 831.420.3939 fax 831.420.3980 bruce.macfarlane@noaa.gov office hours

Physiological Ecology of Marine, Estuarine, and Anadromous Fishes

Our research focuses on the functional relationships of fishes to their environment.  Animals are adapted to the environmental conditions in which they have evolved and now live, yet for a variety of natural and anthropogenic reasons these conditions change.  We seek to understand the environmental requirements of fish and the consequences of changing conditions.  Results from our studies not only improve knowledge of the animal’s biology, but also improve their management and conservation. 

Currently, we are conducting research on juvenile salmonids in streams, estuaries, and the coastal ocean of California.  Declines in the abundance of Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead in California have resulted in most stocks being listed by the U.S. Endangered Species Act.  Although many aspects of salmon biology have been well studied, surprisingly little is known about their estuarine and early ocean life history phases.  Our research team, composed of research fishery biologists, post-doctoral research associates, technicians, and students, has designed studies to determine the influences of environmental variables on life history strategies, physiological processes and ecological interactions, particularly during the critical juvenile stage. Our program addresses key issues such as energy metabolism, growth, trophic interactions, migratory patterns, and interspecies competition to learn more about their effects on survival and fitness.  Salmonid responses to environmental conditions existing in California, the southern end of the species= ranges, are likely to differ from those of stocks in the middle of their distributions in the Pacific Northwest where most information on salmonid biology originated previously.  Thus, knowledge of salmonid adaptations to conditions in California will expand understanding of the range of biological variability and provide guidance for resource managers in salmon conservation and recovery.

Selected Publications

MacFarlane, R.B., S. Ralston, C. Royer, and E.C. Norton.  In press.  Juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) growth on the central California coast during the 1998 El NiZo and 1999 La NiZa.  Fisheries Oceanography

Hayes, S.A., M.H. Bond, C.V. Hanson, and R.B. MacFarlane. 2004.  Interactions between endangered and hatchery salmonids: can the pitfalls of artificial propagation be avoided in small coastal streams?  Journal of Fish Biology 65 (Supplement A):101-121.

Lindley, S.T., R. Schick, B.P. May, J.J. Anderson, S. Greene, C. Hanson, A. Low, D. McEwan, R.B. MacFarlane, C. Swanson, and J.G. Williams.  2004.  Population structure of threatened and endangered Chinook salmon ESUs in California’s Central   Valley basin.  NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-370, 66p.

MacFarlane, R.B., and E.C. Norton. 2002.  Physiological Ecology of juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) at the southern end of their distribution, the San Francisco Estuary and Gulf of the Farallones, California.  Fishery Bulletin 100:244-257.

Eldridge, M. B., E. C. Norton, B. M. Jarvis, and R. B. MacFarlane.  2002.  Energetics of early development in the viviparous yellowtail rockfish.  Journal of Fish Biology 61:1122-1134.

MacFarlane, R. B., S. Ralston, C. Royer, and E. C. Norton.  2002.  Influences of the 1997- 1998 El Niño and 1999 La Niña on juvenile chinook salmon in the Gulf of the Farallones.  PICES Scientific Report No. 20:25-29.

MacFarlane, R.B. and E.C. Norton.  2002.  Physiological ecology of juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) at the southern end of their distribution, the San Francisco Estuary and the Gulf of the Farallones, California.  Fishery Bulletin. 100:244-257.

Norton, E.C., R.B. MacFarlane, and M.S. Mohr.  2001.  Lipid class dynamics during development in early life stages of shortbelly rockfish and their application to condition assessment.  Journal of Fish Biology 58:1010-1024.

MacFarlane, R.B.  2000.  Use of the San Francisco Estuary by juvenile chinook salmon.  In Fish migration and passage, (J. Cech, Jr., S. McCormick, and D. MacKinlay, eds.) International Congress on the Biology of Fish, American Fisheries Society, pp. 41-45.

MacFarlane, R.B. and E.C. Norton.  1999.  Nutritional dynamics during embryonic development in the viviparous genus Sebastes their application to the assessment of reproductive success.  Fishery Bulletin 97:273-281.

Norton, E.C. and R.B. MacFarlane.  1999.  Lipid class composition of the viviparous yellowtail rockfish over a reproductive cycle.  Journal of Fish Biology 54:1287-1299.

MacFarlane, R.B. and M.J. Bowers.  1995.  Matrotrophic viviparity in the yellowtail rockfish Sebastes flavidus. Journal of Experimental Biology 198:1197-1206.

MacFarlane, R.B., E.C. Norton, and M.J. Bowers.  1993.  Lipid dynamics in relation to the annual reproductive cycle in yellowtail rockfish (Sebastes flavidus).  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 50:391-401.

MacFarlane, R.B., R. Harvey, M.J. Bowers, and J.S. Patton.  1990.  Serum lipoproteins in striped bass (Morone saxatilis): effects of starvation.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 47:739-745.