We use emerging technology and innovative approaches (e.g. biosensors, telemetry) to complement classic methods in the conservation physiologist toolkit (e.g. blood sampling). Our research is grounded in environmental realism (using long-term datasets or environmental data loggers) and we bring the lab to the field to collect physiological and behaviour measurements on wild animals in remote locations.
Biologgers: Heart Rate and Accelerometry

Selected Publications:
Twardek W.M., A. Ekstrom, E.J. Eliason, R.J. Lennox, E. Tuononen, A.E.I. Abrams, A.L. Jeanson, S.J. Cooke. 2021. Field assessments of heart rate dynamics during spawning migration of wild and hatchery reared chinook salmon. Philosophical Transactions B 376: 20200214
Prystay, T.S., R. deBruijn, K. Peiman, S.G. Hinch, D.A. Patterson, A.P. Farrell, E.J. Eliason, S.J. Cooke. 2020. Cardiac performance of free-swimming wild sockeye salmon during the reproductive period. Integrative Organismal Biology 2: obz031
Steell, S.C., S.J. Cooke, E.J. Eliason. 2020. Artificial light at night does not alter heart rate or locomotor behaviour in Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus): insights into light pollution and physiological disturbance using biologgers. Conservation Physiology 8 coaa097
Prystay, T.S., M.J. Lawrence, A.J. Zolderdo, J.W. Brownscombe, R. de Bruijn, E.J. Eliason, S.J. Cooke. 2019. Exploring relationships between cardiovascular activity and parental care behavior in nesting smallmouth bass: a field study using heart rate biologgers. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 234: 18-27
Prystay, T.S., E.J. Eliason, M.J. Lawrence, M. Dick, J.W. Brownscombe, D.A. Patterson, G.T. Crossin, S.G. Hinch, S.J. Cooke. 2017. The influence of water temperature on sockeye salmon heart rate recovery following simulated fisheries interactions. Conservation Physiology 5: cox050; doi:10.1093/conphys/cox050
Tagging: Acoustic and Radio

Selected Publications:
Wilson, S., S.G. Hinch, D.A. Patterson, E.J. Eliason, S.J. Cooke. 2022. Estimating adult Pacific salmon energy use in coastal British Columbia and the Fraser River estuary with acoustic accelerometer transmitters. Estuaries and Coasts 45: 2134-2150
Dick, M., K. Robinson, D.A. Patterson, E.J. Eliason, S.G. Hinch, S.J. Cooke. 2020. Adult sockeye salmon gastrically tagged near spawning grounds exhibit lower survival rates throughout the spawning period than externally tagged conspecifics. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 40: 939-951
Dick, M., E.J. Eliason, D.A. Patterson, K.A. Robinson, S.G. Hinch, S.J. Cooke. 2018. Short-term physiological response profiles of tagged migrating adult sockeye salmon: a comparison of gastric insertion and external tagging methods. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 147: 300-315
Healy, S.J., S.G. Hinch, A.L. Bass, N.B. Furey, D.W. Welch, E.L. Rechisky, E.J. Eliason, A.G. Lotto. K.M. Miller. 2018. Transcriptome profiles relate to migration fate in hatchery steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 75: 2053-2068
Minke-Martin, V., S.G. Hinch, D.C. Braun, N.J. Burnett, M.T. Casselman, E.J. Eliason, C.T. Middleton. 2018. Physiological condition and migratory experience affect fitness-related outcomes in adult female sockeye salmon. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 27: 296-309
Healy, S.J., S.G. Hinch, A.D. Porter, E.L. Rechisky, D.W. Welch, E.J. Eliason, A.G. Lotto, N.B.
Furey. 2017. Route-specific movements and survival during early marine migration of hatchery steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss smolts in coastal British Columbia. Marine Ecological Progress Series 577: 131-147
Field Physiology: Stream-Side Respirometry

Selected Publications:
Dressler, T.L., K. Anlauf-Dunn, A. Chandler, E.J. Eliason. 2025. Beyond latitude: Thermal tolerance and vulnerability of a broadly distributed salmonid across a habitat temperature gradient. Conservation Physiology 13: coaf030
Dressler, T.L., V. Han Lee†, K. Klose, E.J. Eliason. 2023. Thermal tolerance and vulnerability to warming differ between populations of wild Oncorhynchus mykiss near the species’ southern range limit. Scientific Reports 13 (1), 14538
Anlauf-Dunn, K., K. Kraskura, E.J. Eliason. 2022. Intraspecific variability in thermal tolerance: A case study with coastal cutthroat trout. Conservation Physiology 10: coac029
Developing Methods & Techniques

Selected Publications:
Gilbert, M.J.H., E.A. Hardison, A.P. Farrell, E.J. Eliason, K. Anttila. 2024. Measuring maximum heart rate to study cardiac thermal performance and heat tolerance in fishes Journal of Experimental Biology 227: jeb247928
Lawrence, M.J., G.D. Raby, A.K. Teffer, K.M. Jeffries, A.J. Danylchuk, E.J. Eliason, C.T. Hasler, T.D. Clark, S.J. Cooke. 2020 Best practices for non-lethal blood sampling of fish via the caudal vasculature. Journal of Fish Biology 97: 4-15
Little, A., T. Dressler, K. Kraskura, E. Hardison, B. Hendricks, T. Prystay, A.P. Farrell, S.J. Cooke, D.A. Patterson, S.G. Hinch, E.J. Eliason. 2020. Maxed out: Optimizing accuracy, precision and power for field measures of maximum metabolic rate in fishes. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 93: 243-254
McElroy, M.E., T.L. Dressler, G.C. Titcomb, E.A. Wilson, K. Deiner, T.L. Dudley, E.J. Eliason, N.T. Evans, S.D. Gaines, K.D. Lafferty, G.A. Lamberti, Y. Li, D.M. Lodge, M.S. Love, A.R. Mahon, M.E. Pfrender, M. Renshaw, K.A. Selkoe, C.L. Jerde. 2020. Calibrating environmental DNA metabarcoding to conventional surveys for measuring fish species richness. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8: 276
McGaw, I.J., C. Steell, T. Van Leeuwen, E.J. Eliason, and S.J. Cooke. 2018. Application of miniature heart rate data loggers for use in free-moving decapod crustaceans: method development and validation. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 91: 731-739
Dick, M., E.J. Eliason, D.A. Patterson, K.A. Robinson, S.G. Hinch, S.J. Cooke. 2018. Short-term physiological response profiles of tagged migrating adult sockeye salmon: a comparison of gastric insertion and external tagging methods. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 147: 300-315
Wilson, S.M., S.G. Hinch, E.J. Eliason, A.P. Farrell, S.J. Cooke. 2012. Calibrating acoustic acceleration transmitters for estimating energy use by wild adult Pacific salmon. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 164: 491-498
Farrell, A.P., E.J. Eliason, T.D. Clark, M.F. Steinhausen. 2014. Oxygen removal from water versus arterial oxygen delivery: calibrating the Fick equation in Pacific salmon. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 184: 855-864
Clark, T. D., E.J. Eliason, E. Sandblom, S.G. Hinch, A.P. Farrell. 2008. Calibration of a hand-held haemoglobin analyser for use on fish blood. Journal of Fish Biology 73: 2587-2595
Eliason, E.J., A. Kiessling, A. Karlsson, B. Djordjevic, A.P. Farrell. 2007. Validation of the hepatic portal vein cannulation technique using Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. Journal of Fish Biology 71: 290-297