
Thomas Quinn, Professor, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences tquinn@uw.edu
Tom Quinn was born in New York City and was interested in natural history and especially fishes from an early age. He kept tropical fish, went fishing, and learned to scuba dive. He graduated from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Biology in 1976, traveled west, and completed his Ph.D. in Fisheries at the University of Washington in 1981. He then spent four years as a post-doctoral fellow at the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Pacific Biological Station, in Nanaimo, British Columbia. He joined the faculty in the University of Washington’s School of Fisheries, now School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, in 1986, and has been studying the ecology, behavior, evolution, and conservation of salmon and trout, and their ecosystems. He taught many classes, including Scientific Writing and Communication, Fisheries Ecology, and Salmonid Behavior and Life History, and co-taught Aquatic Ecological Research in Alaska with Ray Hilborn and Daniel Schindler. He retired from full-time teaching in 2023 but continues to teach his Salmonid Behavior and Life History class, participate in teaching and field work in Alaska, mentor students, and pursue research projects.
Please peruse this site for information about Tom’s teaching and research at the University of Washington. For copies of past publications, please go to Publications. View Tom’s current lab members and past lab members below.
- Roni, P., C. Johnson, T. De Boer, G. Pess, and D. Sear. In press. Interannaul variability in the effects of physical habitat and parentage on Chinook salmon egg-to-fry survival. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
- Johnson, C. L., P. Roni, and G. R. Pess. 2012. Parental effect as a primary factor limiting egg-to-fry survival of spring Chinook salmon in the upper Yakima River Basin. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 141(5):1295-1309.
- Johnson, C. L., G. M. Temple, T. N. Pearsons, and T. D. Webster. 2009. An evaluation of data entry error and proofing methods for fisheries data. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 138(3):593-601.
- Johnson, C. L., P. Roni, A. Murdoch, M. Hughes, and T. De Boer. In prep. Environmental and parental influences to Spring Chinook incubation survival and development in the Chiwawa River, Washington State.
Former Graduate Students and Post-Docs
- Anderson, J. H. 2006. Colonization of newly accessible habitat by coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch).
- Berman, C. H. 1990. Effect of elevated holding temperatures on adult spring chinook salmon reproductive success.
- Boatright, C. 2003. Timing of migration, spawning, and juvenile emergence by sockeye salmon in Bear Lake, Alaska.
- Buck, G. 2003. Migratory pathways of maturing sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
- Buehrens, T. W. 2011. Growth, movement, survival and spawning habitat of coastal cutthroat trout.
- Chamberlin, J. 2009. Early marine migratory patterns and the factors that promote resident type behavior of Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, in Puget Sound, Washington.
- Dalton, T. J. 1989. The use of a freshwater trematode as a parasite tag to indicate continental region of origin of ocean-caught steelhead trout.
- Denton, K. 2008 The utilization of a salmon subsidy by resident char (Salvelinus spp.).
- Doctor, K. 2008 Fishing out evolution? Spatial and temporal patterns of migration in sockeye salmon
- Erickson, M. 2005. Vertebrate Communities in Bedrock and Gravel bottomed Streams of the Willapa Basin
- Havey, M. 2008 Salmon olfaction: Odor detection and imprinting in Oncorhynchus spp. pdf
- Hendry, A. P. 1995. Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Lake Washington: an investigation of ancestral origins, population differentiation, and local adaptation.
- Hodgson, S. 2000. Marine and freshwater climatic influences on the migratory timing of adult sockeye salmon.
- Jaecks, T. 2010. Population Dynamics and Trophic Ecology of Dolly Varden in the Iliamna River, Alaska: Life History of Freshwater Fish Relying on Marine Food Subsidies.
- Johnson, C. 2024. Factors affecting the survival and development of upper Columbia River Chinook salmon.
- Kinnison, M. T. 1997. Population differentiation in chinook salmon introduced to New Zealand: evidence from morphological, reproductive and early life history characters.
- Kahler, T. H. 1999. Summer movement and growth of individually marked juvenile salmonids in western Washington streams.
- Kendall, N. 2007. Long term fishery selection on size and age at maturity in Bristol Bay, Alaska sockeye salmon.
- Leonetti, F. E. 1996. Habitat attributes, sockeye salmon spawning behavior, and redd site characteristics at island beaches, Iliamna Lake, Alaska.
- Lincoln, A. E. 2019. Selective consumption of sockeye salmon by brown bears: patterns of partial consumption, scavenging, and implications for fisheries management.
- Mackey, G. 1999. Investigations of opportunities for genetic and ecological interactions and reproductive success of hatchery and wild steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Forks Creek, Washington.
- Newell, J. 2005. Migration and movement patterns of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Lake Washington.
- Nowak, G. 2000. Movement patterns and feeding ecology of cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki) in Lake Washington.
- Olson, A. F. 1989. Some aspects of the behavior of chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, in estuaries.
- Rhodes, J. S. 1998. Comparative performance of hatchery and naturally reared coho salmon parr in streams: laboratory and field experiments
- Rich, H. R., Jr. 2006. Effects of climate and density on the distribution, growth, and life history of juvenile sockeye salmon in Iliamna Lake, Alaska.
- Rohde, J. 2013. Partial migration of Puget Sound Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch): Individual and population level patterns.
- Roni, P. 1992. Life history and spawning habitat in four stocks of large-bodied chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).
- Shreffler, D. K. 1989. Temporary residence and foraging by juvenile salmon in a restored estuarine wetland.
- Thornton, E. 2015. Competition between non-native brook trout and coho salmon in the Elwha River, WA during dam removal.
- Abrey, C. A. 2005. Variation in the early life history of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): emergence timing, an ontogenetic shift, and population productivity.
- Anderson, J. 2011. Dispersal and reproductive success of Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho (O. kisutch) salmon colonizing newly accessible habitat.
- Arostegui, M. C. 2019. Nonanadromous life history diversity of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
- Austin, C. S. 2020. Salmonid life history, phenology, and distribution within a large river basin.
- Bond, M. H. 2013. Diversity in migration, habitat use, and growth of Dolly Varden char in Chignik Lakes, Alaska.
- Carlson, S. M. 2006. Evolutionary effects of bear predation on salmon life history and morphology.
- Cunningham, C. 2015 (co-supervised with Ray Hilborn). Salmonid selection, evolution, and historical abundance patterns.
- Dickerson, B. R. 2003. Reproductive success in wild pink salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha.
- Dittman, A. H. 1994. Behavioral and biochemical mechanisms of olfactory imprinting and homing by coho salmon.
- Gende, S. M. 2002. Foraging behavior of bears at salmon streams: intake, choice, and the role of salmon life history.
- Goetz, F.A. 2016. Migration and Residence Patterns of Salmonids in Puget Sound, Washington.
- Hendry, A. P. 1998. Reproductive energetics of Pacific salmon: strategies, tactics and tradeoffs.
- Hovel, R. 2015. Species diversity and environmental variability: patterns and processes of
lacustrine fish community responses in a variable world. - Kendall, N. W. 2011. Fishery selection and Pacific salmon life histories: patterns and processes.
- Kinnison, M. T. 1999. Life history divergence and population structure of New Zealand chinook salmon: a study of contemporary microevolution.
- Lonzarich, D. G. 1994. Stream fish communities in Washington: patterns and processes.
- McElroy, K. 2023. Applying the Ideal Free Distribution Theory to two mobile predators on Pacific salmon: Commercial fishers and brown bears.
- McLean, J. E. 2003.Reproductive success of hatchery and wild steelhead, Oncorhynchus mykiss.
- Merrick, R. 1995. The relationship of the foraging ecology of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) to their population decline in Alaska.
- Pess, G. R. 2009. Patterns and processes of salmon colonization.
- Roni, P. 2000. Response of fish and salamanders to instream restoration in small western Washington and Oregon streams.
- Seamons, T. R. 2005. The mating system of steelhead and the effect of length and arrival date on steelhead reproductive success.
- Tillotson. M. D. 2018. Impacts of climate change on sockeye salmon life-history productivity and evolutionary ecology: Implications for managing salmon in a warming world.
- Woods, P. J. 2011. Ecological diversity in the polymorphic fish Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus).







