Species & Ecosystem Science

Project Leads

Dayv Lowry, Ph.D.
Research Scientist

Dr. Dayv Lowry has been a research scientist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife since 2010.  Prior to this he worked as the Salmonid Stock Inventory (SaSI) Data Coordinator and a Research Biologist with WDFW’s Fish Science Division for 4 years and, prior to that, as a Puget Sound Crab Fisheries Manager for 18 months.  Dayv currently serves as the Senior Groundfish and Forage Fish Research Scientist with the Marine Fish Science Unit, where he oversees remotely operated vehicle (ROV), bottom trawl, scuba survey, fishery evaluation, and stock assessment research for the Department, as well as serving as a policy advisor on fishery management issues. His areas of expertise are the behavior, anatomy, trophic interactions, and demography of marine species, specifically forage fishes (smelt, sandlance, etc.) and sharks.  Past research for the Department has included stock assessment work for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed Chinook on the Snohomish and Green Rivers, development of a commercial test fishery for red rock crab in Puget Sound, an evaluation of variation in Dungeness crab weight throughout Puget Sound, and an evaluation of mating success in Dungeness crab by sub-basin in Puget Sound.  Dayv’s past research experience with sharks in both Hawai’i and Florida, and current work with the Seattle Aquarium, the University of Washington, and other partner organizations, is primarily put to use by WDFW when species identification or general shark ecology questions are posed by the public.

Current Research

• Marine Beach Spawning Fish Ecology
• Population assessment of Puget Sound Groundfish using a small ROV
• Effects of Sea Level Rise & Shoreline Armoring on Beach Spawning Fish
• Genetic Differentiation of Surf Smelt Populations in Puget Sound
• Cataloging Patterns of Juvenile Salmon Shark Strandings in Washington
• Feeding Behavior and Seasonal Occurrence of Sixgill Sharks in Puget Sound

Selected Publications

• Annual patterns of surf smelt, Hypomesus pretiosus, intertidal spawning habitat use along Camano Island, Puget Sound, Washington State
• The Columbia River Instream Atlas: A Tool for Evaluating Fish, Habitat, and Water Use Condition And Requirement in the Columbia River Basin
• Relatedness and polyandry of sixgill sharks, Hexanchus griseus, within an urban estuary.
• Modulation in Prey Capture Behavior of the Ant-lion, Myrmeleon crudelis
• Abundance estimation of Snohomish system Chinook salmon via mark-recapture, 2009-10 Sentinel Stock monitoring. 
• Determining shark size from forensic analysis of bite damage.
• Relative importance of growth and behaviour to elasmobranch suction-feeding performance over early ontogeny.
• Aerial and aquatic feeding in the silver arawana, Osteoglossum bicirrhosum.