Benjamin H. Letcher

USGS/Biological Resources Division

S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center

One Migratory Way - P.O. Box 796

Turners Falls, MA 01376

Voice: 413 863-3803

Fax: 413 863-9810

Email: bletcher@forwild.umass.edu

http:/www.lsc.nbs.gov/cafl/ecology.htm

**Education:**

North Carolina State University Zoology with Statistics and Modeling
minor Ph.D. 1994

University of Rhode Island Oceanography, biological option M.S. 1990
Trinity College Biology B.S. 1985

Dissertation Title: Causes and consequences of growth variability in
young fishes.

**Employment:**

1995- Biological Resources Division, Ecology section leader

Anadromous Fish Research Center, Turners, Falls, MA,

> and adjunct faculty member Department of Natural Resources
> Conservation, University of Massachusetts

1994-1995 Oak Ridge Postdoctoral Fellow

State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY

1992-1994 Electric Power Research Institute Fellow

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

1992 Teaching Assistant, Fisheries ecology,

North Carolina State University, Department of Zoology

1990-1992 Wisconsin Sea Grant Fellow

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

1987-1990 URI-USEPA Cooperative Research Fellow

University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

1986-1987 Research Assistant, Center for Coastal Studies

Provincetown, MA.

1985-1986 Research Assistant, University of

Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.

**Professional Activities:**

Associate Editor, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
(1998-2001)

Memberships:

American Fisheries Society

AFS Early Life History Section (North East representative)

AFS Southern New England Chapter-At large representative

Ecological Society of America

NASCO Assessment Committee representative

**Teaching experience**:

Fisheries ecology Teaching Assistant, North Carolina State University,
1992

Individual-based modeling, SUNY Stony Brook, 1995

Ecology of individuals, University of Massachusetts, 1997

Evolution of migration, University of Massachusetts, 1999

Evolution and ecology of migration, University of Massachusetts, 2000

Ecology of diadromous fishes, University of Massachusetts, 2002, 2004

Analysis of mark-recapture data, University of Massachusetts, 2004

**Publications:**

King, T.L., M. S. Eackles, and B. H. Letcher. **in Press.**
Microsatellite DNA markers for the study of Atlantic salmon (*Salmo
salar*) kinship, population structure, and mixed-fishery analyses. Mol.
Ecol. Notes

Aubin-Horth, N. B. H. Letcher, and H. A. Hofmann. **in Press**. Effects
of rearing environment on brain gene expression in Atlantic salmon males
expressing alternative reproductive tactics. J. Hered.

Scace, J. and B.H. Letcher. **in Press**. Efficient smolt trap for sandy
and debris laden streams. N. Am. J. Fish. Manag.

Letcher, B.H., T. D. Dubreuil, M. J. O'Donnell, M. Obedzinski, and K.
Nislow, **in Press**. Long-term consequences of variation in timing and
manner of fry introduction on juvenile Atlantic salmon growth, survival
and life history expression, Can J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

Obedzinski, M, and B. H. Letcher, **in Press**. Variation in early
development and growth among five New England Atlantic salmon *(Salmo
salar)* populations reared in a common environment. Can J. Fish. Aquat.
Sci.

Carlson, S.M., A.P. Hendry and B.H. Letcher, 2004. Natural selection
acting on size, growth rate, and compensatory growth: an empirical test
in a wild trout population, Evol. Ecol. Res., 6:1-19.

Spidle, A., T.L. King, and B.H. Letcher, 2004. Genetic diversity in
Connecticut River Atlantic salmon (*Salmo salar* L.), Aquaculture,
236:253-265.

Letcher, B.H. 2003. Life history dependent morphometric variation in
stream-dwelling Atlantic salmon, Oecologia, 137:533-540.

Carlson, S.M., B.H., Letcher, 2003. Variation in trout survival within
and among seasons, species, and age classes, J. of Fish Biol.,
63:780-794.

Letcher, B.H., G. Gries. 2003. Effects of life history variation on size
and growth of stream-dwelling Atlantic salmon, J. Fish Biol., 62:97-114.

Hendry, A.P., B.H. Letcher and G. Gries. 2003. Estimating natural
selection on stream-dwelling Atlantic salmon: implications for the
restoration of extirpated populations. Cons. Biol., 17(3):795-805.

Henderson, J.N. and B.H. Letcher. 2003. Predation on stocked Atlantic
salmon fry. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 60:32-42.

Letcher, B.H., G. Gries and F. Juanes. 2002. Survival of stream-dwelling
Atlantic salmon: effects of life history variation, season and age.
Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 131:838-854.

Gries, G. and B.H. Letcher. 2002. Tag retention and survival of age-0^+^
Atlantic salmon following surgical implantation with passive integrated
transponder tags. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 22:219-222.

Gries, G., T.D. Terrick, and B.H. Letcher. 2002. A night-seining
technique to sample Atlantic salmon (*Salmo salar*) in streams. N. Amer.
J. Fish. Manag., 22:595-601.

Mayo, C.A., B.H. Letcher, and S. Scott. 2001. Zooplankton filtering
efficiency of the baleen of a North Atlantic right whale, *Eubalaena*
*glacialis*. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, special issue,
vol. 2: 225-230.

Letcher, B.H, and T.L King. 2001. Parentage assignment with known and
unknown matings: application to the Connecticut River Atlantic salmon
restoration. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 58: 1812-1821.

Letcher, B.H., and T.D. Terrick. 2001. Effects of developmental stage at
stocking on growth and survival of Atlantic salmon fry. N. Amer. J.
Fish. Manag., 21: 102-110.

Juanes, F. B.H. Letcher, and G. Gries. 2000. Ecology of stream fish:
insights gained from an individual-based approach. J. Freshw. Biol., 9:
65-73.

Letcher, B.H., and T.L. King, 1999. Targeted stock identification using
multilocus genotype 'familyprinting'. Fisheries Res, 43:99-111.

Letcher, B.H., and T.D. Terrick, 1998. Maturation of age-0 Atlantic
salmon following a massive, localized flood. J. Fish Biol., 53:1243-1252

Letcher, B.H. and Terrick, T.D. 1998. Thermal marking of Atlantic salmon
otoliths. N. Amer. J. Fish. Manag., 18:406-410.

Buckle, J., Letcher, B.H., and Conover, D. 1998. Effects of a delayed
onset of piscivory on size of Age-0 bluefish. Trans. Am. Fish Soc.,
127:576-587.

Letcher, B.H., J. Walters, and J. Priddy. 1998. An individual-based,
spatially-explicit model of the population dynamics of the endangered
Red-cockaded woodpecker, *Picoides borealis*. Biol. Cons., 86:1-14.

Letcher, B.H., and J.A. Rice 1997. Prey patchiness and larval fish
growth and survival: inferences from a spatially-explicit,
individual-based model. Ecol. Mod., 95, 29-43

Letcher, B.H., J.A. Rice, L.B. Crowder, and F.P. Binkowski. 1997. Size-
and species-dependent variability in consumption and growth rates of
larvae and juveniles of three fishes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 54,
405-414

Letcher, B.H., J.A. Rice, L.B. Crowder, and F.P. Binkowski. 1996.
Size-dependent effects of continuous and intermittent feeding on
starvation time and mass loss in starving yellow perch (*Perca
flavescens*) larvae and juveniles. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 125, 14-26

Letcher, B.H., J.A. Rice, L.B. Crowder, and K. Rose. 1996. Variability
in survival of larval fishes; disentangling components of variance with
a generalized individual-based model. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 53,
787-801.

Letcher, B.H., and D.A. Bengtson. 1993. Effects of food density and
temperature on feeding and growth of young inland silversides *Menidia
beryllina*. J. Fish Biol., 43; 671-686.

Letcher, B.H., and D.A. Bengtson. 1993. Effects of food density on
growth and on patterns of prey depletion by larval silverside fish
*Menidia beryllina* (Cope); a laboratory investigation with image
analysis. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 167, 197-213.

Blaustein, J.D., and B. Letcher. 1987. Noradrenergic regulation of
cytosol estrogen receptors in female rat hypothalamus: possible role of
2-noradrenergic receptors. Brain Res., 404, 51-57.

**Manuscripts submitted:**

Grader, M. and B.H. Letcher. Diel and seasonal gut fullness and prey
composition of Atlantic salmon parr in the west brook, J. Freshw. Ecol.

## Carlson, S.M., B.H. Letcher, and A.P. Hendry. Variation in brook and brown trout growth: effects of season, species, and age class. J. Anim. Ecol.

O'Donnell, M. J. and B.H. Letcher. Cohort- and location-specific growth
of Connecticut River American shad: influence on outmigration
representation and timing, Trans. Am. Fish. Soc.

Sigourney, D.B., G.E. Horton, T.L. Dubreuil, A.M. Varady, B.H. Letcher.
Electroshocking and PIT tagging juvenile Atlantic salmon: are there
interactive effects on growth and survival?. NAJFM

García De Leániz, C., I.A. Fleming, S. Einum, [E. Verspoor, W.C. Jordan,
S. Consuegra, N. Aubin-Horth, D.Lajus, B. H. Letcher, A.F. Youngson, J.
Webb,]{.smallcaps} L.A. Vøllestad, B. Villanueva, A. Ferguson [And T.P.
Quinn.]{.smallcaps} A critical review of inherited adaptive variation in
Atlantic salmon. Journal of Fish Biology.

Letcher, B.H., G.E. Horton, T. Dubreuil, M.J. O'Donnell. Field estimates
of the change in strength and direction of selection differentials after
accounting for emigration, Evolution.

Letcher, B.H., G.E. Horton, T. Dubreuil, M.J. O'Donnell Power of
multistate mark-recapture models to detect size dependent survival:
selection on body size in juvenile Atlantic salmon, Ecology

**Recent Presentations:**

Letcher, B. H., G. Horton, T. D. Dubreuil, M. O\'Donnell, Selection on
body size in juvenile Atlantic salmon: power of multi-state
mark-recapture models to detect size dependent survival, Ecological
Society of America, 2004 annual meeting, Portland Oregon.

Letcher, B. H., G. Horton, T. D. Dubreuil, M. O\'Donnell, No selection
on size or growth in juvenile Atlantic salmon after accounting for
emigration and probability of capture using a multistrata mark-recapture
model, Evolutionary and Ecological Ethology of Fishes 2004 meeting,
Saudakraukur, Iceland

Letcher, B. H., T. D. Dubreuil, M. O\'Donnell, M. Obedzinski, and K
Nislow, Life History Consequences of Variation in Stocking Date for
Stream-Dwelling Atlantic Salmon Parr, American Fisheries Society, 2003
Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec, CAN.

Letcher, B.H, Sources of size variation in stream-dwelling Atlantic
salmon parr. Invited seminar, Norway Institute of Nature Research,
Trondheim, Norway, 2003

Letcher, B.H. Sources of size variation in stream-dwelling Atlantic
salmon. Invited seminar, Department of Biology , University of Maine,
May 2, 2003.

Letcher, B.H. Determinants of life history variation in stream-dwelling
Atlantic salmon. Invited seminar for Biology Department, Worcester
Polytechnic Institute, February 18, 2003

Letcher, B.H., T.D. Dubreuil, M.O. O'Donnell, M. Obedzinski and K.
Nislow. Effects of timing of stocking on Atlantic salmon in the West
Brook, MA. USFWS Forum on Atlantic Salmon research, Hadley, MA,
February, 2003.

Letcher, B.H. and Nislow, K.H. Determinants of growth and survival
across scales: use of parentage assignment to assess heritable variation
in juvenile Atlantic salmon. Invited presentation at SALGEN
quantitative/experimental workshop, Arrendono, Spain, Sept. 2002.

Letcher, B.H. Family differences in growth, survival and movement of
stream-dwelling Atlantic salmon parr. EEEF meeting, Quebec City, Quebec,
September, 2002.

Letcher, B.H. T.D. Dubreuil, and G. Gries. Incorporation of PIT tag
antennas into a long-term, detailed tagging study in a small stream.
NMFS PIT tag antenna workshop, Manchester, WA, December, 2001.

Letcher, B.H. and G. Gries. Life-history dependent morphometric
variation in stream-dwelling Atlantic salmon. AIC meeting, Center
Harbor, NH, September, 2001.

Letcher, B.H. and G. Gries. Family differences in growth and survival of
individually-tagged juvenile Atlantic salmon. USFWS Forum on Salmon
research, January, 2001.

Letcher, B.H. and G. Gries. Sources of growth variation in individual
Atlantic salmon parr in West Brook, MA, USA, International Congress on
the Biology of Fishes, Aberdeen, Scotland, 2000.

Letcher, B.H., F. Juanes and G. Gries. Growth, survival and maturity of
individual Atlantic salmon parr in West Brook, MA, USA. Canadian
Conference for Fisheries Research, Fredericton, New Brunswick, 2000.

Letcher, B.H., and T.L. King. Targeted stock identification using
multilocus genotype 'familyprinting'. AFS meeting, Hartford, CT, 1998.

Letcher, B.H., G. Gries, and F. Juanes. Parr maturation at low
latitudes: growth, smolting and age-0 maturation. AFS meeting, Hartford,
CT, 1998.

Letcher, B.H., G. Gries, T.D Terrick, and F. Juanes. Growth movement and
maturity of individual Atlantic salmon parr in West Brook, MA, USA.
International congress on the biology of fish, Baltimore, MD, 1998.

Letcher, B.H., and T. King. Tools for stream fish restoration: Atlantic
salmon genetics, broodstock management and fry marking. Ecology of
Stream fish, state of the art and future prospects, 1998, Luarca, Spain.

Juanes, F., and Letcher, B.H. Ecology of stream fish: insights gained
form an individual-based approach. Ecology of Stream fish, state of the
art and future prospects, 1998, Luarca, Spain.

Letcher, B.H, T.L King. Tools for evaluation of anadromous fish
restoration: genetics, broodstock management and fry marking. Invited
seminar at Dartmouth College, Fall 1997, and at the University of Rhode
Island, Winter 1998.

Letcher, B.H, T.L King. Tools for evaluation of anadromous fish
restoration: potential for large-scale genetic marking of Connecticut
River Atlantic Salmon. ICES Science Meeting, 1997 (nominated for
outstanding paper).

Letcher, B.H, T.L King. Genetic variability of Connecticut River
Atlantic salmon and potential for a genetic mark to identify stocking
tributary. American Fisheries Society Meeting, 1997.

Letcher, B.H, T. Terrick. Effects of fry developmental stage on stocking
success, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists meeting,
1997.

Letcher, B.H, J. A. Rice, L.B. Crowder, and F.P. Binkowski.
Size-dependent effects of continuous and intermittent feeding on
starvation time and mass loss in starving yellow perch (*Perca
flavescens*) larvae and juveniles. American Society of Ichthyologists
and Herpetologists meeting, 1996.