Campus Directory

Division Physical & Biological Sciences Division

Department/ College/ Unit Institute of Marine Sciences

Title Associate Project Scientist

Affiliation Staff

Staff Type Academic

Primary Office Location Remote work location
213

Mail Stop NMFS

Biography, Education and Training

I have studied freshwater fishes across California since 2005, with the past decade focused on using acoustic telemetry to evaluate the movement and survival of outmigrating juvenile salmon and steelhead. My research examines how environmental conditions influence outmigration success through the Sacramento River watershed and identifies critical areas where survival may be limited during migration to the ocean. More specifically, I am passionate about using our research findings to help restore the few remaining runs of wild spring-run Chinook salmon in California's Central Valley, which are State and Federally listed as threatened and currently persist in just a handful of Sacramento River tributaries.

Selected Publications

·         Stockwell, C. L., Morse, J. M., Dirling, M. E., Couch, C. E., Michel, C. J., Notch, J. J., & Kock, T. J. 2026. Evaluating reservoir passage and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon to support reintroduction upstream of Shasta Dam, California. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 155(4):471–483. https://doi.org/10.1093/tafafs/vnag016

·         Burford, B. P., Notch, J. J., Poytress, W. R., & Michel, C. J. 2025. Facilitated migration could bolster migrant passage through anthropogenically altered ecosystems. Ecological Applications 35(5):e70070. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70070

·         Goertler, P. A. L., Johnston, M., Michel, C. J., Grimes, T., Singer, G., Notch, J., & Sommer, T. 2024. Use of telemetry data to quantify life history diversity in migrating juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Water 16:2529. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16172529

·         Nelson, P. A., et al. 2022. Considerations for the development of a juvenile production estimate for Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 20(2).

·         Robinson, R. R., Notch, J., McHuron, A., et al. 2021. The effects of water temperature, acoustic tag type, size at tagging, and surgeon experience on juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) tag retention and growth. Animal Biotelemetry 9:22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-021-00246-y

·         Michel, C. J., Notch, J. J., Cordoleani, F., Ammann, A. J., & Danner, E. M. 2021. Nonlinear survival of imperiled fish informs managed flows in a highly modified river. Ecosphere 12(5):e03498. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3498

·         Notch, J. J., McHuron, A. S., Michel, C. J., et al. 2020. Outmigration survival of wild Chinook salmon smolts through the Sacramento River during historic drought and high water conditions. Environmental Biology of Fishes 103:561–576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-020-00952-1

·         Cordoleani, F., Notch, J., McHuron, A. S., Ammann, A. J., & Michel, C. J. 2018. Movement and survival of wild Chinook salmon smolts from Butte Creek during their outmigration to the ocean: Comparison of a dry versus wet year. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 147:171–184.

·         Pipal, K. A., Notch, J. J., Hayes, S. A., & Adams, P. B. 2012. Estimating escapement for a low-abundance steelhead population using Dual-Frequency Identification Sonar (DIDSON). North American Journal of Fisheries Management 32(5):880–893.