IOF students visit Chilliwack

This field trip happened in the context of the FISH 520 course, whose focus topic was conservation in the context of fisheries. The class went to Chilliwack Lake with Dr. Jordan Rosenfeld, Aquatic Scientist, Applied Freshwater Fisheries Research Unit (AFERU), in order to observe the natural habitat of local Pacific salmon species.

Student learned about micro-habitats and aquatic insects which are substantial for the survival of juvenile salmons in a freshwater environment. They also canoed to the Chilliwack River mouth where the river enters Chilliwack Lake, where they were able to observe female Chinook salmon protecting their spawning ground. The trip ended with them walking in the old growth forest bordering the shore of the lake, to view how the landscape and its evolution can influence the sediments inputs into the river.