We’ve heard from experienced professionals with years of experience, but what about the next generation of those wading the rivers and asking the research questions?

In the previous episode of “More than a fish”, we dove into early career exploration in biology and conservation, and Jason Hwang provided some enlightening insight into what those flipping through resumes may look for. But we want this season to be as widespread and all-encompassing as the animal that inspired it — Pacific salmon — so if you’re a student, or considering graduate school, we hope this episode will serve as a useful reference.

Auston Chhor welcomes Arielle Koenig, a master’s student at the Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Lab at the University of British Columbia, with her research focusing on flood plain habitats, fish passage, and invasive species. Before venturing into this graduate degree, Arielle worked as a field biologist at Pearson Ecological working in the lower Fraser, where she and Auston crossed paths (or more accurately, crossed streams).

When entering your master’s, it’s common to have a lot more questions than solely the one your work will center around: Is there a right time? How is financial stability even an option? What will a typical day look like? Wait, you mean YOU’RE in charge now?

For Arielle, her thesis explores overwintering fish growth and survival, specifically juvenile coho, in flood plain habitats situated near different types of flood gate structures. Basically, Arielle is looking at how young coho in their first one to two years of life use their habitat, and how they do during this time before heading to the ocean.

Beyond her research, the conversation flows into unexpected challenges of fieldwork, relationships with supervisors, and being exposed to the sociology side of biology as someone studying species as culturally centric as salmon.

Raincoast Radio is hosted by Auston Chhor and produced by Sofia Osborne. This podcast is a production of Raincoast Conservation Foundation, a team of conservationists and scientists empowered by research to protect the lands, waters and wildlife of coastal British Columbia. Learn more and support our work at raincoast.org

Additional resources

• Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Lab
• Pearson Ecological
• Flood gate animation (shown at 1:25)