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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2021
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Photos by Bradley W. Parks/Oregon Public Broadcasting
Research fi sh biologist Brooke Penaluna collects water samples from the Santiam River’s south
fork east of Cascadia.
Scoops of water unlock info
about Oregon watersheds
By BRADLEY W. PARKS
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Next to the babbling banks of the Santiam
River’s south fork, Brooke Penaluna sought
a fl at spot to set up shop. She plopped down
a black, pipe-like reservoir with four clear
cups on top and clicked the power button on a
small pump that sounded like the world’s tini-
est lawnmower.
“And then we put on our gloves and our
waders, and we go out into the stream,” said
Penaluna, who works as a research fi sh biol-
ogist for the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacifi c
Northwest Research Station.
Near the middle of the river, Penaluna
carefully dipped four plastic bottles into the
oncoming water, tightly capping them for the
journey back to shore.
Inside those bottles, scientists are fi nding
worlds of information that could be key to the
long-term health of Oregon watersheds and
all who share them.
With each scoop of water comes a trove
of what’s called “environmental DNA.” Just
like humans are almost constantly shedding
skin cells, hair and other particles laced with
genetic information, so are all the organisms
in waterways.
A few years ago, scientists were running
tests to determine whether environmental
DNA could reliably tell them who was living
in Oregon’s rivers, streams, creeks, lakes and
reservoirs. Turns out it can.
“We come out here and we can identify up
to 900 diff erent organisms in this river sys-
tem,” Penaluna said.
Now, biologists are taking the science a
step further. Scientists with Oregon State
University and the Forest Service recently
demonstrated they can use environmen-
tal DNA to analyze the genetic diversity of
threatened salmon and trout, which can help
us understand how they will adapt to climate
change and other threats.
“The more variable the organisms are, the
greater ability they have to be fl exible and
adapt and change into the future,” Penaluna
said.
Oregon State and the Forest Service pub-
lished their fi ndings in the journal Molecular
Ecology earlier this year.
“It’s really important that we understand
the genetic diversity, particularly,” said Kevin
Weitemier, a research associate at Oregon
State who led the study. “We focused on trout
and salmon populations in the Northwest to
help our managers eff ectively manage these
populations and maintain the diversity that
can help keep robust populations in place.”
The study focused on four species —
coho and Chinook salmon, rainbow trout
or steelhead, and coastal cutthroat trout —
at 16 diff erent sites across fi ve watersheds
— Deschutes, Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua
and Willamette (the Santiam is one of its
tributaries).
They found, for example, that smaller
coastal rivers hosted some of the most genet-
ically diverse populations of cutthroat trout.
Penaluna said researchers also found unique
Penaluna pours river water into a fi ltering
device to extract particles for environmental
DNA analysis.
genetic variants of certain species in the
Umpqua River.
They uncovered genetic similarities in
rainbow trout from the White River, which
runs from Mount Hood east past Tygh Valley,
and trout from the Klamath River. Some have
long theorized the Deschutes and Klamath
watersheds were once connected by an inter-
mediary basin called Fort Rock, and this pro-
vides a piece of evidence.
Collecting this type of genetic informa-
tion typically requires capturing fi sh by elec-
tro-shock or angling, then clipping a fi n,
Weitemier said. It usually doesn’t kill the fi sh,
but it’s also not great for them.
“If we can get a sense of what’s happen-
ing with the genetic diversity of the popula-
tion from just a couple bottles of water, that’s
a really big advantage,” Weitemier said.
Back on the riverbank, Penaluna poured
river water little by little into the four cups
atop the pipe-like contraption. As the water
fi ltered through the system, it left behind
teensy specks on a gridded wafer at the bot-
tom of the cups. Those leftovers were what
she was after.
No fi sh showed themselves in the Santiam
while Penaluna sampled, but because of how
environmental DNA lingers in waterways,
she said, you don’t necessarily need to even
see a fi sh to know it’s there. That’s one of the
method’s main draws. It also requires smaller
fi eld crews.
“eDNA allows us to sample for a broad
range of organisms within our water sys-
tems without harming any of the animals or
plants that we’re interested in focusing on,”
Penaluna said.
Research has proven environmental
DNA’s eff ectiveness in detecting species
presence and absence, Penaluna and Weite-
mier said, but its application on genetic diver-
sity is still new.
“We think it’s working pretty well in our
salmonids,” Weitemier said, “but it diff ers
for diff erent organisms, so we’re continually
doing tests to try and suss that out and refi n-
ing our techniques to improve those.”
Researchers intend to expand the appli-
cation of environmental DNA analysis to
other species. If it proves as cheap, effi cient
and eff ective as proponents say it is, it could
become a critically important tool to moni-
tor the health of Oregon watersheds into the
future.
Notes on narcissism in the family
Dear Readers: The issue of dealing with fi nd help and courage from therapy.
a narcissist in the family struck a chord and
Dear Annie: You missed an opportunity
prompted a number of letters off ering insights to teach about narcissism. This gal is asking
and advice. Most were pretty dishearten- how they can all fi gure out how to maneuver
ing because narcissists rarely change.
through the manipulation of this wom-
Here are two interesting ones:
an’s behavior.
DEAR
Dear Annie: This is a message to
In addition to all the pain that fam-
ANNIE
the sister in distress because of the
ily members have to absorb because of
abusive behavior of her sister-in-law.
the narcissist, they are all still trying to
I speak as a registered nurse who has
save the brother but allow the rest of
encountered similar situations.
the family to also take this punishment
Certainly, the diffi cult sister-in-
forever.
law has trust and control issues, and
I have lived with narcissism in the
she is manipulative. Many traits you
family, and in two businesses, and it
described are clinically characteristic ANNIE LANE continues over a few future genera-
Creators
of a narcissistic personality disorder.
tions. We have tried many psycholo-
Syndicate Inc.
Therapy is seldom successful in long-
gists over a period of many years, but
term change.
there is never any help for those who
The key is the brother. He is the one who are in the narcissist’s lives.
needs help and support. The reason is that
The brother should divorce his narcissistic
long-term suppression of himself can lead to wife. I am old now, and I understand that the
depression. This can even result in explosive best opportunity to free oneself from the pain
anger — from repressed feelings and emascu- of a narcissistic spouse is to divorce them. It is
lating treatment by his wife over time. There never easy, but it can save his life. — Old and
are many red fl ags in this abusive home. — Been There
Serious Situation
Dear Old and Been There: I hope there is
Dear Serious: Thank you for your insights a better solution for the brother and his wife,
and suggestions. Let’s hope the brother can but thank you for off ering your suggestion.
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