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  Benjamin J. Atencio

Benjamin J. Atencio

Assistant Specialist

 

Physical & Biological Sciences Division

Institute of Marine Sciences

Assistant Specialist

Staff

IMS-Fisheries Collaborative Program

Remote work location
NMFS

NMFS

Biography:

Hailing from Southern California, Ben has traveled far and wide in his pursuit of knowledge. His journey began in earnest at UC Santa Cruz, and Ben is thrilled to be part of UCSC's staff.

Ben has a decade of experience working with anadromous salmonids and looks forward to many more years of engaging work with these iconic fish species. Ben's previous fisheries experience has primarily focused on monitoring populations of ESA-listed coho, Chinook, and steelhead in watersheds in Northern California (Point Reyes National Seashore, Klamath River Watershed, Russian River Watershed). Ben also gained field experience working with Atlantic salmon, brown trout, and Arctic charr in the Alta River and Alta Fjord in Northern Norway as part of his masters thesis. Ben has utilized many fisheries survey techniques and technologies, including: spawning ground surveys, smolt trapping, snorkel surveys, electro-fishing, acoustic telemetry, PIT tagging and antenna building, DIDSON and ARIS imaging sonars, and video counting stations. Ben is currently a member of the Monitoring and Modeling Pathogen Exposure in Salmon project (PI-Miles Daniels), a multi-year program with the goal of building a pathogen exposure model, especially for the parasite Ceratonova shasta, for migrating Chinook salmon in the Sacramento and Feather Rivers. Ben leads or co-leads the efforts for water sampling, water filtering, and sentinel exposure studies.

Ben's interest lie in the research and conservation of anadromous salmonids and looks forward to a future where native salmonid populations are robust and healthy.

 

Education:

  • University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway 
    • Master of Science in Biology, specialization in Freshwater Ecology
      • Thesis titled, “The migratory behavior of Atlantic salmon, brown trout, and Arctic charr post-smolts in a Norwegian fjord” 
  • University of California, Santa Cruz
    • Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology

 

Publications:

  • Atencio, B.J., Thorstad, E.B., Rikardsen, A.H., and Jensen, J.L.A. (2021). Keeping close to the river, shore and surface: the first marine migration of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) post-smolts. Journal of Fish Biolology. 99: 462– 471. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14737
  • Atencio, B.J. (2019). The migratory behavior of Atlantic salmon, brown trout, and Arctic charr post-smolts in a Norwegian fjord.  Masters thesis in Biology, University of Tromsø, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Freshwater Ecology Group. 63 pp.
  • Atencio, B. and Reichmuth, M. (2014). Monitoring of Adult Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout Using Dual-frequency Identification Sonar (DIDSON) in Lagunitas Creek, California: 2012- 2014 Pilot Project Summary Report. Report to CDFW. 69 pp.
  • Atencio, B. and Reichmuth, M. (2014). Monitoring of Adult Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout Using Dual-frequency Identification Sonar (DIDSON) in Lagunitas Creek, California: 2013 Annual Report. Report to CDFW. 45 pp. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2216630

 

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