Stephanie Carlson

Education

Ph.D. Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, 2006
M.S. Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2002
B.S. Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, 1999

Research Description:

We study the evolutionary ecology and conservation of freshwater fishes. We seek to understand the dynamics of California’s inland fishes, and the factors that shape these populations and influence their persistence.

Some topics that interest us include:

- Life history portfolios and stability
- Habitat mosaics and connectivity
- Impacts of drought and climate change on inland fishes
- Ecological and evolutionary impacts of management (water, fishery, hatchery)
- Indigenous fisheries management
Much of our research is field-based and incorporates elements of behavioral, population, and community ecology. Our research combines various techniques like tagging and tracking individually marked fish, experimental manipulations in the field, direct observations, comparative studies, and modeling.

The Carlson Lab is part of the Berkeley Freshwater group, along with the labs of Drs. Ted Grantham and Albert Ruhí. Learn more about the research and training opportunities within the broader Berkeley Freshwater group here!

Selected Publications

Baker, H. Obedzinski, M., Grantham, T.E., and Carlson, S.M. 2025. Variation in salmon migration phenology bolsters population stability but is threatened by drought. Ecology Letters 28: e70081. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70081

Rossi, G., Bellmore, J.R., Armstrong, J.B., Jeffres, C.A., Naman, S.M., Carlson, S.M., Grantham, T.E., Kaylor, M.J., White, S., Katz, J., and Power, M.E. 2024. Foodscapes for salmon and other mobile consumers. BioScience 74: 586-600. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae064

Carlson, S.M., Ruhí, A., Bogan, T.M., Wölfe Hazard, C., Ayers, J., Grantham, T.E., Batalla, R., and García, C. 2024. Losing flow in free-flowing Mediterranean-climate streams. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 22(5): e2737. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2737

Pregler, K.C., ObedzinskiG, M., Gilbert-Horvath, E., White, B., Carlson, S.M., Garza. J.C. 2023. Assisted gene flow from outcrossing shows the potential for genetic rescue in an endangered salmon population. Conservation Letters 16: e12934. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12934

Colombano, D.D., Carlson, S.M., Hobbs, J.A., and Ruhi, A. 2022. Four decades of climatic fluctuations and fish recruitment stability across a marine-freshwater gradient. Global Change Biology 28 (17): 5104-5120. doi/10.1111/gcb.16266

Chen, E., Galvez, J., Carlson, S.M. 2022 Towards building a more diverse and inclusive culture in the fisheries classroom. Fisheries. http://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10814

Kelson, S.J., Miller, M.R., Thompson, T.Q., O’Rourke, S.M., and Carlson, S.M. 2020. Temporal dynamics of migration-linked genetic variation are driven by streamflows and riverscape permeability. Molecular Ecology 29: 870-885. doi.org/10.1111/mec.15367

Vander Vorste, R., Obedzinski, M., Nossman-Pierce, S., Carlson, S.M., and Grantham, T.E. 2020. Refuges and ecological traps: extreme drought threatens persistence of an endangered fish in intermittent streams. Global Change Biology 26: 3834-3845.

Sturrock, A.M., Satterthwaite, W., Yoshida, K.M., Huber, E.R., Sturrock, H.J.W., Nusslé, S., Carlson, S.M. 2019. Eight decades of hatchery salmon releases in the California Central Valley: Factors influencing straying and resilience. Fisheries 44: 433-444.

Radinger, J., Britton, J.R., Carlson, S.M., Magurran, A.E., Alcaraz-Hernández, J.D., Almodóvar, A., Benejam, L., Fernández-Delgado, C., Nicola, G.G., Oliva-Paterna, F.J., Torralva, M., and García-Berthou, E. 2019. Effective monitoring of freshwater fish. Fish and Fisheries 20: 729– 747. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12373

Bogan, M.T., Leidy, R.A., Neuhaus, L., Hernandez, C.J., and Carlson, S.M. 2019. Biodiversity value of remnant pools in an intermittent stream during the great California drought. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 29:976–989.

Hwan, J.L., Fernández-Chacón, A., Buoro, M., and Carlson, S.M. 2018. Dry season survival of juvenile salmonids in an intermittent coastal stream. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 75: 746-758.

Hovel, R.A., Carlson, S.M., and Quinn, T.P. 2017. Climate change alters the reproductive phenology and investment of a lacustrine fish, the threespine stickleback. Global Change Biology 23: 2308–2320.

Carlson, S.M., Cunningham, C.J., and Westley, P.A.H. 2014. Evolutionary rescue in a changing world. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 29: 521-530.

Buoro, M. and Carlson, S.M. 2014. Life history syndromes: integrating dispersal through space and time. Ecology Letters 17: 756-767.

Carlson, S.M., and Satterthwaite, W.H. 2011. Weakened portfolio effect in a collapsed salmon population complex. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 68: 1579-1589.

Honors and Awards

Inducted as a Fellow of the American Fisheries Society - 2021.
Elected as a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences - 2021.
A.S. Leopold Chair in Wildlife Biology, UC-Berkeley - 7/2016 - present.
Rose Hills Innovator Award - UC-Berkeley - 2014-17.
Young Faculty/CE Specialist Award - College of Natural Resources, UC-Berkeley - 2013.
Rising Star Distinguished Ecologist - Colorado State University, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology - 2011.
Young Investigator Prize - American Society of Naturalists - 2010
J. Frances Allen Scholarship - American Fisheries Society - 2005

Recent Teaching:

Fish Ecology (Spring Semesters)
Freshwater Ecology (Spring Semesters through 2017, co-taught with Mary Power)
Biology and Geomorphology of Tropical Islands (Fall Semesters, co-taught with Mishler, Roderick, Looy, Finnegan, and Stillman)
Wildlife & Conservation Biology Seminar (Fall and Spring Semesters, shared responsibility with Brashares, Echeverri, Middleton, and Schell)