Anna Steel
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Email: aesteel@ucdavis.edu
Degrees:
B.A. Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
Ph.D Ecology, University of California, Davis
Website: http://annaesteel.weebly.com/
Research Interests:
My research has always focused on movement ecology, with an emphasis on riverine systems and fishes. I have explored both the large- and small-scale movements of fish (Largemouth Bass, Green Sturgeon, Chinook Salmon, and Seven-gill Sharks) and worked to integrate individual variation into our understanding of migration and survival rates. My research will continue to pursue aspects of movement ecology in the Fangue lab through the study of cue-response systems, such as behavioral responses to stimuli and the interaction of these external factors and individual state. Ultimately it is important to me that my work is applicable to current conservation issues.
My current research projects include an assessment of the movement of juvenile Green Sturgeon near a model fish guidance structure (louver) and its associated hydraulic flow fields. We’ll assess the efficiency of the louver for directing this species away from the water-extraction pumps of the California State Water Project. I am also studying anti-predator behaviors of juvenile sturgeon, and their susceptibility to predation by common predatory fishes of the Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta. Together, this work will provide a better understanding of the sources of mortality of the threatened Green Sturgeon, as well as identify the behavioral responses of juvenile Green Sturgeon to external stimuli (flow fields and predator risk).
During my Ph.D. research I was based in the Biotelemetry Laboratory at UC Davis (Dr. Peter Klimley). As a post-doctoral researcher I previously worked jointly with Dr. Andy Sih (UC Davis) and Dr. David Smith (Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center).
Publications:
Steel, Anna E., Ryan A. Peek, Robert L. Lusardi, Sarah M. Yarnell. In press. Associating metrics of hydrologic variability with benthid macroinvertebrate communities in regulated and unregulated snowmelt-dominated rivers. Freshwater Biology.
Steel, Anna E., Michael J. Thomas, A. Peter Klimley. In review. Movements of adult Green Sturgeon support removal of the Red Bluff Diversion Dam. Journal of Applied Ichthyology.
Spiegel, Orr, Anna E. Steel, Brian Mulvey, David Smith. In review. Swim for your life: specialization in Chinook salmon migration-speed predicts survival more than body-size. Movement Ecology.
Steel, Zachary L., Anna E. Steel, John Williams, Josh Viers, Pablo Marquet, Olga Barbosa. 2017. Patterns of bird diversity and habitat use in mixed vineyard-matoral landscapes of Central Chile. Ecological Indicators.
Steel, Anna E., Bertrand Lemasson, David L. Smith, and Joshua A. Israel. 2016. Two-dimensional movement patterns of juvenile winter-run and late-fall run Chinook salmon at the Fremont Weir, Sacramento River, CA. US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering Research and Development Center, Environmental Labs. Vicksburg, MS.
Steel, Anna E., Julia Coates, Alex Hearn, A. Peter Klimley.2014. Performance of an ultrasonic telemetry positioning system under varied environmental conditions. Animal Biotelemetry 2:15.
Steel, Anna E., Phillip Sandstrom, Patricia Brandes, A. Peter Klimley. 2013. Migration route selection of juvenile Chinook salmon at the Delta Cross Channel, and the role of water velocity and individual movement patterns. Environmental Biology of Fishes 96(2-3) 215-244.
Stoepler, Teresa M., Andrea Edge, Anna Steel, Robin L. O'Quinn, and Mark Fishbein. 2012. Variation in pollination effectiveness in a milkweed (Asclepias, Apocynaceae) hybrid zone. American Journal of Botany 99(3) 1:11.
