Research Interests

The primary goal of my research program is to understand the suite of processes that control growth and survival of juvenile fishes and lead to variability in recruitment into adult stocks. This "recruitment problem" is at the core of many issues in both basic and applied fisheries population biology and underlies the majority of research that my students and I are involved in. We use a combination of whole lake experiments, observations in nature, laboratory experiments and simulation models to explore these processes at a range of spatial and temporal scales.

Current foci include experimental studies aimed at understanding the importance of exploitative and interference competition and predation in size-structured fish populations. We are examining habitat choice and profitability, diet, growth rates, vulnerability to predation and survival rates of juveniles and adults in populations that vary in density and size-structure. We are also examining ontogenetic patterns in tradeoffs of energy allocation to somatic growth, storage for overwinter survival and reproduction. A key basic issue in this research is how we scale from individual behaviour and energetics to population level phenomena.

Applied studies include assessments of impacts of climate change on thermal behaviour, energetics and population dynamics of prairie and northern fishes. We are developing bioenergetic models to assess instream flow needs for riverine fishes. We are also examining the demography of collapse and recovery of harvested fish populations. We are using a large scale adaptive management experiment and simulation models to optimize the use of hatchery stocks and fishing regulations in the rainbow trout fishery of the southern interior of British Columbia.

 

Courses Taught

Graduate Students

Awards

2006 - Best Paper of the Year, American Fisheries Society, N.American Journal of Fisheries Management
2004 - Best Paper of the Year, American Fisheries Society, N. American Journal of Fisheries Management

Selected publications

• Johnston, F.D. and J.R. Post. 2009. Density-dependent life history compensation of an iteroparous salmonid. Ecological Applications 19:449-467. (pdf file)
• Post, J.R., L. Persson, E.A. Parkinson and T. van Kooten. 2008. Angler numerical response across landscapes and the collapse of freshwater fisheries. Ecological Applications 18:1038-1049.  (pdf file)
• Biro, P.A. and J.R. Post. 2008. Fishery-induced evolution: rapid depletion of genotypes with fast growth and bold personality traits. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 105:2919-2922. (pdf file)
• Rosenfeld, J.S., J.R. Post, G. Robins and T. Hatfield. 2007. Hydraulic geometry as a physical template for the River Continuum: application to optimal flows and longitudinal trends in Salmonid habitat. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 64:755-767. (pdf file)
• Biro, P.A., J.R. Post and D.J. Booth. 2007. Climate induced mortality of fish populations is mediated by behaviour in whole-lake experiments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 104:9715-9719. (pdf file)
• Askey, P.J., L.K. Hogberg, J.R. Post, L.J. Jackson, T. Rhodes and M.S. Thompson. 2007. Spatial patterns in fish biomass and relative trophic level abundance in a waste water enriched river. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 16:343-353. (pdf file)
• Johnston, F.D., J.R. Post, C.J. Mushens, J.D. Stelfox, A.J. Paul and B. Lajeunesse. 2007. The demography of recovery of an overexploited bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, population. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 64:113-126. (pdf file)
• Askey, P.J.,  J.R. Post, E.A. Parkinson, E. Rivot, A.J. Paul and P.A. Biro. 2007. Estimation of gillnet efficiency and selectivity across multiple sampling units: A hierarchical Bayesian analysis using mark-recapture data. Fisheries Research 83:162-174. (pdf file)
• Askey, P.J., S.A. Richards, J.R. Post and E.A. Parkinson. 2006. Linking angling quality and learning under catch and release regulations: why are the fish not biting? North American Journal of Fisheries Management 26:1020-1029. (pdf file)
• Post, J.R., van Poorten, B.T., Rhodes, T., Askey, P. and Paul, A.J. 2006. Fish Entrainment into Irrigation Canals: an Analytical Approach and Application to the Bow River, Alberta, Canada. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 26:875-887. (pdf file)
• Anderson, K., A.J. Paul, E. McCauley, L. Jackson, J.R. Post and R. Nisbet. 2006. Ecological dynamics and the management of instream flow needs in rivers and streams. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6:309-318. (pdf file)
• Mackenzie-Grieve, J.L. and J.R. Post. 2006. Thermal habitat use by lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in two contrasting Yukon lakes. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 135:727-738. (pdf file)
• Mackenzie-Grieve, J.L. and J.R. Post. 2006. Projected impacts of climate warming on production of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in southern Yukon lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 63:788-797. (pdf file)
• Biro, P.A., J.R. Post and M.V. Abrahams. 2005. Ontogeny of energy allocation reveals selective pressure promoting risk-taking behaviour in young fish cohorts. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B 272:1443-1448. (pdf file)
• Biro, P.A., M.V. Abrahams, J.R. Post and E.A. Parkinson. 2004. Predators select against high growth rates and risk-taking behaviour in domestic trout populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B 271:2233-2237. (pdf file)
• Biro, P.A., A.E. Morton, J.R. Post and E.A. Parkinson. 2004. Overwinter lipid depletion and mortality of age-0 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 61:1513-1519. (pdf file)
• Parkinson, E.A., J.R. Post and S.P. Cox. 2004.  Linking the dynamics of harvest effort to recruitment dynamics in a multi-stock, spatially-structured fishery. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 61:1658-1670. (pdf file)
• Biro, P.A., J.R. Post and E.A. Parkinson. 2003. From individuals to populations: prey fish risk-taking mediates mortality in whole-system experiments. Ecology 84:2419-2431. (pdf file)
• Biro, P.A., J.R. Post and E.A. Parkinson. 2003. Density-dependent activity reduces growth and survival of prey fish in whole-lake experiments. Journal of Animal Ecology 72:546-555. (pdf file)
• Post, J.R., C.J. Mushens, A.J. Paul and M. Sullivan. 2003. Assessment of alternative management strategies for sustaining recreational fisheries: model development and application to bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 23:22-34. [Awarded Best Paper of the Year] (pdf file)
• Biro, P.A., J.R. Post and E.A. Parkinson. 2003. Population consequences of a predator-induced habitat shift by trout in whole-lake experiments. Ecology 84:691-700. (pdf file)
• Paul, A.J., J.R. Post and J.D. Stelfox. 2003. Can anglers influence the distribution of native and non-native salmonids in streams from the Canadian Rocky Mountains? North American Journal of Fisheries Management 23:109-119. (pdf file)
• Post, J.R., M. Sullivan, S. Cox, N.P. Lester, C.J. Walters, E.A. Parkinson, A.J. Paul, L. Jackson, B.J. Shuter. 2002. Canada’s recreational fisheries: the invisible collapse? Fisheries 27:6-17. (pdf file)
• Post, J.R. and E.A. Parkinson. 2001. Energy allocation strategy in age-0 fish: allometry and survival. Ecology 82:1040-1051. (pdf file)