Carson Jeffres' research interest is how juvenile salmonids utilize and benefit from restored habitats. His research focuses on how physical processes within a watershed create ecologically important conditions favorable to a productive food web and include sampling water quality, hydrologic conditions, primary producers (plants), invertebrates, and fish. This whole system approach has been valuable in determining limiting factors and prioritizing restoration actions for the recovery of threatened salmonid populations. He is currently directing the Shasta River project and expanding to other spring-fed systems in Northern California to gain a better understanding of how these unique environments function and how best to protect and restore them.

Carson Jeffres
Administration, Field and Lab Director, Research Staff, Graduate Student
Summary
Published articles Show More
Water Temperature Patterns Below Large Groundwater Springs: Management Implications For Coho Salmon In The Shasta River,...
Published in River Research and Applications
Elevated stream temperature is a primary factor limiting the coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) population in California\textquoterights Shasta River Basin. Understanding the mechanisms driving spatial and temporal trends in water temperature throughout the Shasta River is critical to prioritizing river restoration efforts aimed at protecting this ...
Ephemeral floodplain habitats provide best growth conditions for juvenile Chinook salmon in a California river
Published in Environmental Biology of Fishes
We reared juvenile Chinook salmon for two consecutive flood seasons within various habitats of the Cosumnes River and its floodplain to compare fish growth in river and floodplain habitats. Fish were placed in enclosures during times when wild salmon would naturally be rearing in floodplain habitats. We found significant differences in growth rates...
When Good Fish Make Bad Decisions: Coho Salmon in an Ecological Trap
Published in North American Journal of Fisheries Management
Coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch are a threatened species in California. In the Shasta River, they may be caught in an ecological trap that is exacerbating their decline. Adults appear to have equal preferences for spawning habitat that reduces the survival of their young and that of apparently similar quality where survival would be more likely. T...
Reports Show More
Misc. Show More
Experimental Agricultural Floodplain Pilot Study, 2011-2012
Managed seasonally for native fish and waterfowl habitat as well as rice production and flood control, the Nigiri Project is the first stage towards a new multi-use management paradigm for the Yolo Bypass. Innovative use of existing agricultural infrastructure allows seasonal creation of floodplain habitat for endangered native fishes and waterfowl...
Executive Analysis of Restoration Actions in Big Springs Creek March 2008-September 2011
Assessment of Restoration Actions on Big Springs Creek, Shasta River, California 2009-2010