Habitat Suitability Analysis of Larval Pacific Lamprey Habitat in the Columbia River Estuary

Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentata) are native fish to the Columbia River Basin. Over the past 60 years,  anthropogenic disturbances have contributed to a 95% decline of historical population numbers. Member-tribes of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission have acknowledged the importance of Pacific lamprey to the Columbia River ecosystem and expressed concern about the loss of an essential tribal cultural resource. As a result, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission created the Tribal Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan to halt their decline, re-establish the species, and restore the population to sustainable, harvestable levels throughout their historical range. 
Limited knowledge about the movement and preferred habitat of larval Pacific lamprey, such as optimal habitat conditions, demographic information, and species resilience, results in challenges to monitor and protect the species. Pacific lamprey is known to use the mainstem Columbia River to migrate between...