Bio

Katherine Carey is a doctoral student in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University. Broadly, her research examines freshwater fish community assemblages in relation to climate-mediated disturbances in a Great Basin system. Katherine completed her master’s degree in fisheries science at Oregon State University in 2022. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading and baking.

Katherine’s research focuses on the Goose Lake Basin, Oregon. As a hydrologically closed system in a desert valley, the Basin is especially vulnerable to drought and wildfire. With minimal water inflow and no external outflow, the basin depends heavily on local snow and rainfall, making it highly sensitive to fluctuations in precipitation and severely limiting its ability to recover from extreme climatic events. These challenges threaten future water availability and habitat connectivity for both native and non-native fish species. Specifically, she is interested in the growth and related traits of interior redband trout populations and is focused on building a habitat-specific bioenergetics model for the Goose Lake redband trout. She seeks to identify areas within the Basin that are highly productive for this native species to inform habitat management and conservation needs.

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