Eric Holmes

Profile image for Eric Holmes

Emeritus Staff Research Associate

  • Environmental Science and Policy

Eric Holmes’ research interest is in how natural processes and native species in aquatic habitats interact with the human altered environment.

Eric uses traditional fish sampling and field survey methods coupled with advanced techniques in remote sensing, biotelemetry, and software development to collect and analyze research data on habitat characteristics and patterns in aquatic food webs. His focus is on Chinook Salmon and floodplain ecology in the Central Valley with the goal of providing a detailed assessment of how the habitat mosaic of channels and floodplain interact with the hydrology to create opportunities for enhanced ecosystem productivity. He is also working in spring-fed river systems of the Southern Cascades to assess the geomorphic response of Hat Creek to in-stream restoration actions and to describe the unique population structure and migration characteristics of Fall River rainbow trout.

Research Interests & Expertise
  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Habitat Restoration

Eric Holmes's Recent Projects

Conservation of inland fish biodiversity

Knowledge of species' spatial distributions is crucial to the identification and prioritization of watersheds in need of restoration. Coupled with species' status, the presence and or absence of species can indicate biologically diverse vs. depauperate areas.

Management of the Spring Snowmelt Recession

In this project, we seek to improve our understanding of the impacts of varying spring flow regimes on stream ecology, through empirical field studies, and water management, through hydropower optimization modeling.

Code Library and Tools

As part of numerous other projects, Center for Watershed Sciences staff and researchers have developed code to run analyses, organize and store data, interface with other systems, automate processing, and more. Some of this code is designed to be reusable as standalone products, or as code in other, larger projects. You can find this code below.

Cosumnes Phase 3

The Center for Watershed Sciences is partnering with The Nature Conservancy in an experimental floodplain restoration on the Cosumnes River. The Center's role in this Department of Fish & Wildlife funded project, "Wildlife And Vegetation Response to Experimental Restoration of Flooded Riparian Forest Habitat for the Cosumnes River Preserve," is intended to conduct biophysical monitoring of an experimental restoration on approximately 800 acres of flooded riparian forest habitat in the Cosumnes River Preserve.