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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Place and Date of Birth: Chajarí (Entre Rios, Argentina),12/21/53
Citizenship: Argentine
Marital Status: Single
EDUCATION
1. DEGREES (Degree, End Date, Granting institution)
"Licenciado" in Biological Sciences, 1977, University of Buenos Aires
M.S. in Fisheries,1990, University of Washington
Ph.D. in Fisheries,1996, University of Washington
2. LANGUAGES
Spanish (Native), English (Advanced), French (Intermediate)
3. AWARDS (Award, Purpose, Date)
Rotary International, Fishery training, Sept.1982-April 1983
Tinker Foundation, Graduate studies, Oct. 1987-June 1989
Egtvedt Trust(Univ. Washington),Student financial support, December 1988
R. Van Cleve Memorial(Univ. Washington),Student financial support, October 1989
Faculty Merit(Univ. Washington),Student financial support, October 1990
G.J. Paulik Memorial(Univ. Washington),Student financial support, October 1991
4. CONFERENCE AND MEETINGS
German/Japanese/Argentine joint meeting to evaluate the results of the R/V Walther Herwig and Shinkai Maru's surveys in the Argentine Sea. INIDEP, Mar del Plata (Argentina), September 4-5 1979.
Third Week of Oceanography, CNIAPSO-MACN. Museum of Natural History "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires (Argentina), October 17-19 1979.
First Latin American Congress on Fisheries. Mar del Plata (Argentina), November 14-18 1983.
Seventh Argentine Zoology Conference. Mar del Plata (Argentina), October 21-26 1984.
First Scientific Symposium of the Committee for Shared Resources of the Maritime Front. INIDEP, Mar del Plata (Argentina), November 13-16 1984.
The 1990 Western Groundfish Conference. Seattle, Washington, January 27-30 1990.
ICES Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour. Ancona (Italy), April 22-24 1991.
The 1992 Western Groundfish Conference. Alderbrook Inn Resort, Union, Washington (USA), January 27-30 1992.
The 1994 Western Groundfish Conference. Nanaimo, British Columbia (Canada), January 17-20 1994.
Solving Bycatch. Considerations for today and tomorrow. Workshop. September 25-27, 1995, Seattle, Washington (USA).
ICES Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour. Woods Hole (USA), 13-17 April 1996.
Scientific and Statistical Committee, North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Anchorage (USA), December 6-8 1998.
Progress and Continuing Challenges in Conservation and Restoration of Aquatic Species, March 29-31, 2001. Sonoma County Hilton, Santa Rosa, CA. Symposium and Annual Meeting of the California-Nevada and Humboldt Chapters of the American Fisheries Society.
Northwest/Central Valley Adult Salmon Escapement Monitoring Workshop, June 17-18, 2003. EDD Auditorium, 722 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, California. Sponsored by: California Bay-Delta Authority, CALFED Bay-Delta Science Program.
5. OTHER KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS
Besides his knowledge in Fisheries Biology, Ecology, quantitative tools in the assessment of animal populations, and management of natural resources, Perez Comas had a solid background in Statistics ( Infernce and Estimation) adquired through his courses at the University of Washington and his research at Columbia Basin Research.
Perez Comas also knows Basic and Virtual Basic, and is an advanced user of Microsoft Excel, Power Point, Access and Word, and Word Perfect, as well as of special statistical software such as SYSTAT and Splus.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
1. TEACHING (Course,Place,Date)
TA Botany, Univ. of Buenos Aires. Aug.1975 / Feb.1976
TA Biometry, Univ. of Buenos Aires, March 1976 / July 1976
TA Invertebrates II, Univ. of Buenos Aires, Aug.1976 / Feb.1977
TA Biometry, Univ. of Buenos Aires, March 1977 / July 1977
TA Invertebrates II, Univ. of Buenos Aires, Aug.1977 / Feb.1978
TA Vertebrates, Univ. of Buenos Aires, March 1978 / July 1978
TA Fish 476, Univ. of Washington, Sept.1993 / Dec.1993
2. RESEARCH (Position, Company, Date)
Res.6 (Data Analysis),INIDEP Mar del Plata, Aug. 29 1978 / May 29 1985
Res.4 (Data Analysis),INIDEP Mar del Plata, June 29 1985 / Dec. 29 1987
Res. Assistant (Data Analysis), University of Washington,Jan. 29 1990 / Sept. 29 1993
Res. Assistant (Data Analysis), University of Washington,Jan. 29 1994 / June 30 1996
System Analyst/Prog.3, University of Washington,Jan. 16 1996 / Oct. 31 1996
Research Associate), Columbia Research Basin, Nov. 1 1996 / Nov. 30 2000
Senior Environmental Scientist, Surphace WaterResources Inc.(SWRI) Sacramento, CA, Since December 1 2000
3. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING EXPERIENCE
In 1998, he served as consultant for the Groundfish Forum, a fishery industry association, for which he gave public testimony on Pacific cod assessment issues at the 1998’s meeting of the Scientific and Statistical Committee (North Pacific Fishery Management Council).
Since December 1, 2000, Dr. Perez Comas works as Senior Environmental Scientist for Surface Water Resources, Inc. (SWRI). SWRI is a private environmental and engineering consulting firm specializing in water resources, with particular expertise in systems analysis and modeling, fisheries and terrestrial resources, policy analysis and water supply issues, regulatory compliance, and water quality, with base in Sacramento, CA. At SWRI, Dr. Perez Comas uses his expertise in applied Statistics and ecological modeling to assist in analyses of various aquatic resources, including listed and endangered species, flow-habitat relationships, habitat restoration, and population dynamics. Following is a detailed list of the projects on which he has worked or is curently working:
• Water Forum (City/County Office of Metropolitan Water Planning), Water Forum Agreement EIR and Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Management Plan as Part of the River Corridor Management Plan for the Lower American River
Dr. Perez Comas is assisting in the preparation of a Fisheries and Aquatic Management Habitat Plan, an integral component of the River Corridor Management Plan for the lower American River. He assisted in the preparation of a comprehensive draft Baseline Report of all existing and historic data collected from the lower American River, including fisheries, riparian habitat, water quality, riverine geomorphology, and hydrology/flood control. He assisted in the preparation of an ecological and biological monitoring plan, which included addressing recommendations for changes in current management practices and identifying protocols for implementing the plan based on adaptive management principles. Based on the ecological and biological monitoring plan of the Fisheries and Aquatic Management Habitat Plan, Dr. Perez Comas is currently preparing the monitoring and evaluation plan portion of the Flow Management Plan Implementation for the Lower American River.
• City/County Office of Metropolitan Water Planning, Lower American River Flow Management Standard
Dr. Perez Comas assisted with the successful completion of the development of an initial characterization of a new lower American River minimum flow pattern, and presented the results to the members of the Lower American River Technical Team. Dr. Perez Comas continues to implement the modeled flow pattern on a real-time basis, and to make biological adjustments to the presently identified minimum flow pattern, in coordination with USFWS, NMFS, and CDFG. These activities include providing technical expertise and consultation regarding the development and implementation of a biological assessment for the lower American River flow standard.
• Department of Water Resources, Oroville Facilities Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Relicensing Project
Dr. Perez Comas is providing technical, analytical and agency consultation support services for DWR’s FERC relicensing process for the hydroelectric facilities at Oroville Reservoir; specifically to support DWR analyses on the effects of alternative hydroelectric operations on Feather River, Sacramento River, and Delta fisheries and water quality as well as Oroville Reservoir fisheries. Dr. Perez Comas’ support includes the use, review of, and interfacing of the State Water Project and Central Valley Project water and power system simulation models including DWRSIM, PROSIM, CALSIM and temperature models including the UC Davis model of Lake Oroville and the Feather River, and other analysis tools.
• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Yuba County Water Agency, Yuba River Fisheries Technical Working Group (CALFED), Implementation Plan for Lower Yuba River Anadromous Fish Habitat Restoration
Dr. Perez Comas is assisting in developing a detailed implementation plan to improve lower Yuba River aquatic and riparian habitats, and the anadromous species that use these habitats (particularly chinook salmon and steelhead). This project will guide future monitoring and data collection. The implementation plan will be based on a detailed conceptual model of the Yuba River aquatic ecosystem, which is being developed from a comprehensive technical review of available Yuba River fishery, ecological, and hydrologic information.
• Yuba County Water Agency, Water Transfer Studies
Dr. Perez Comas participated in the development of study plans and analysis of field data related to the magnitude, duration, and timing of immigrating adult Chinook salmon and emigrating juvenile steelhead, as well as the potential relationship between these movement patterns and the implementation of water transfers in the lower Yuba River. The water transfer evaluations included RST capture efficiency analysis, adult trapping effectiveness, juvenile and adult abundance estimation, and movement determination concurrent with water transfer initiation, continuation and termination. SWRI prepared a draft evaluation report describing the study methods, results, and conclusions, which was submitted to the State Water Resources Control Board.
• Yuba County Water Agency (YCWA), Litigation Support for D-1644
In response to requests to increase the instream flow requirements in the lower Yuba River, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) held hearings in 2000. In support of YCWA, Dr. Perez Comas assisted with the development of an instream flow pattern based on seasonal hydrologic and biologic conditions. Dr. Perez Comas also assisted with the preparation of a declaration related to YCWA’s petition for reconsideration. In 2003, the Yuba County Superior Court granted an appeal to YCWA, and the SWRCB held additional hearings.
• Consulting Services for Trinity River Issues, Northern California Power Agency
Dr. Perez Comas provided fisheries biology and aquatic habitat analysis and assessment regarding steelhead and spring-run Chinook salmon escapement spawning surveys, and review of resource agency annual reports for monitoring of these species in relation to the information contained in the Trinity River EIS.
PUBLICATIONS
1. THESES
Perez Comas, J. A., 1996. Assessment of mesh size selectivity under commercial fishing conditions. Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Washington, Seattle, 229 pp.
Perez Comas, J. A., 1990. Biology and distribution of the Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi): considerations on its stock structure, migration and dynamics of its nursery ground at San Jorge Gulf (Argentina). Thesis for the degree of Master of Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, 179 pp.
2. PUBLISHED PAPERS
Skalski, J. R. and Perez Comas, J. A., 1998. Using Pit-tag Recapture Probabilities to Estimate Project-Wide Fish Guidance Efficiency and Spill Effectiveness at Lower Granite Dam. Report prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Contract No DACW68-96-C0018, Walla Walla, WA, 67 pp.
Skalski, J. R. and Perez Comas, J. A., 1998. Using Steelhead and Chinook Salmon Pit-tag Recapture Probabilities to Estimate FGE and SE at Lower Granite Dam. Report prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Contract No DACW68-96-C0018, Walla Walla, WA, 40 pp.
Skalski, J. R., Perez Comas, J. A. and Westhagen, P., 1998. The Design and Analysis of Salmonid Tagging Studies in the Columbia Basin. Volume VI: Assessment of Season-Wide Survival of Snake River Yearling Chinook Salmon1994-1996. Project No 8910700, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR, 43 pp.
Skalski, J. R., Perez Comas , J. A., Townsend, R. L. and Lady, J., 1998. The Design and Analysis of Salmonid Tagging Studies in the Columbia Basin. Volume I: Assessment of Temporal Trends in Daily Survival Estimates of Spring Chinook, 1994-1996. Project No 8910700, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR, 42 pp.
Perez Comas, J.A., and Skalski, J.R., 1998. The Design and Analysis of Salmonid Tagging Studies in the Columbia Basin. Volume V: Analysis of In-River Growth for PIT-Tagged Spring Chinook Smolt. Project No 9105100, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR, 43 pp.
Perez Comas, J.A., Erickson, D.L., and Pikitch, E.K., 1998. Cod-end mesh size selection for rockfish and flatfish of the U.S. West coast. Fish. Res. 34: 247-268.
Erickson, D.L., Perez Comas, J.A., Pikitch, E.K. and Wallace, J.R., 1996. Effects of catch size and codend type on the escapement of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) from pelagic trawls. Fish. Res. 28: 179-196.
Perez Comas, J.A., and Skalski, J.R., 1996. A parametric multinomial model for size selection in alternate-haul experiments. Fish. Res. 27: 113-129.
Suuronen, P., Perez Comas, J.A., Lehtonen, E. and Tschernij, V, 1996. Size related mortality of herring (Clupea harengus L.) escaping through a rigid sorting grid and trawl codend meshes. ICES J. Mar. sci. 53(4): 613-622.
Pikitch, E.K., Suuronen, P., Erickson, D. L. and Perez Comas, J.A., 1995. Codend size-selection: good concept, but does it really work?. In: Solving Bycatch. Considerations for today and tomorrow. Alaska Sea Grant College Program, Report No 96-03, University of Alaska, Fairbanks: 107-114.
Perez Comas, J.A. and Pikitch, E.K., 1994. The predictive power of empirical relationships describing size selectivity, with application to Gadoid fish. Fish. Res., 20: 151-164.
Skalski, J.R and Perez Comas, J.A., 1993. Nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation of mesh size selectivity. Fish. Res., 18: 321-334.
Brunetti, N.E. and Perez Comas, J.A., 1989. Abundancia, distribución y estructura poblacional del calamar (Illex argentinus) en aguas de la plataforma patagónica en diciembre de 1986 y enero-febrero de 1987. Frente Marítimo (Uruguay) 5(A): 61-70.
Cañete, G.R., Perrotta, R.G. and Perez Comas, J.A., 1986. Aspectos comparativos entre muestreos de desembarque y muestreos en alta mar de la especie merluza (Merluccius hubbsi), considerando el descarte efectuado por la flota marplatense en el período julio/1979-septiembre/1980. Publ. Com. Téc. Mix. Fr. Mar. (Uruguay) 1(2): 447-453.
Perez Comas, J.A., Perrotta, R.G. and Cañete, G.R., 1986. Análisis de los descartes de merluza (Merluccius hubbsi Marini, 1933) de la flota pesquera marplatense desde julio de 1979 a septiembre de 1980. Inv. Pesq. (Spain) 50(4): 531-551.
Perez Comas, J.A., Cañete, G.R. and Perrotta, R.G., 1986. Un plan preliminar para el monitoreo del descarte de merluza (Merluccius hubbsi) realizado por la flota merlucera marplatense. Publ. Com. Téc. Mix. Fr. Mar. (Uruguay) 1(2): 455-462.
Otero, H.O., Bezzi, S.I., Verazay, G.A., Perez Comas, J.A., Perrotta, R.G., Simonazzi, M.A. and Renzi, M.A., 1983. Evaluación de los recursos pesqueros del Mar Argentino durante los años 1978-1979. II. Distribución, áreas de concentración, biomasa y rendimiento potencial de diferentes especies comerciales del Mar Argentino. Contr. INIDEP (Mar del Plata) 433.
Otero, H.O., Perez Comas, J.A. and Perrotta, R.G., 1981. Zonas óptimas de pesca en el Mar Argentino. Contr. INIDEP (Mar del Plata) 398.
Otero, H.O., Bezzi, S.I., Perrotta, R.G., Perez Comas, J.A., Simonazzi, M.A. and Renzi, M.A., 1981. Los recursos pesqueros del Mar Argentino. I. Estudio sobre la distribución y abundancia de la merluza común (Merluccius hubbsi). Contr. INIDEP (Mar del Plata) 382.
Otero, H.O., Bezzi, S.I., Perrotta, R.G., Perez Comas, J.A., Simonazzi, M.A. and Renzi, M.A., 1981. Los recursos pesqueros del Mar Argentino. II. Distribución, estructura de población, biomasa y rendimiento potencial de polaca (Micromesistius australis), merluza de cola (Macrouronus magellanicus), bacalao austral (Salilota australis) y calamar (Illex argentinus). Contr. INIDEP (Mar del Plata) 383.
Perez Comas, J.A., 1980. Distribución, áreas de concentración y estructura de la población del bacalao austral (Salilota australis Günther, 1887) del Atlántico Sudoccidental. Rev. Inv. Des. Pesq. 2(2): 23-37.
3. REPORTS
Bratovich, P., Perez Comas, J. A., Duster, T., Piñero, J., Mitchell, B., and Maniscalco, D. 2003. Evaluation of 2002 Yuba River Water Transfers, January 2003. Draft Report. Prepared for Yuba County Water Agency 1402 D Street, Marysville, CA, 55 pp, 26 tables and 53 figures.
Surface Water Resources, Inc. (SWRI) 2001. Aquatic Resources of the lower American River: Baseline Report. Draft Report. Prepared for the Lower American River Fisheries And Instream Habitat (FISH) Working Group. Funded by CALFED, Water Forum, SAFCA, and the City of Sacramento, 385 pp.
Perez Comas, J.A., and Skalski, J.R., 1996. Preliminary assessment of the effects of pulsed flows on smolt migratory behavior. Technical report, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR, 45 pp. (mimeo).
Orensanz, J.M., Parma, A.M., Perez Comas, J.A. and Pascual, M.A., 1997. La dinámica de poblaciones en explotación y los modelos empleados. In: Boschi, E.E. (ed.), Las investigaciones pesqueras en el Mar Epicontinental Argentino. INIDEP, Mar del Plata, Argentina. (In press).
Perez Comas, J.A., and Skalski, J.R., October 1996. Identification of murrelet forest-sites through tree and nesting-platform counts. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA, 65 pp. (mimeo).
Pikitch, E.K., Perez Comas, J.A., Wallace, J.R., West, C.W., Erickson, D.L. and Bublitz, C.G., January 1994. Size selectivity for walleye pollock under production fishing conditions. Fisheries Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, 27 pp. (mimeo).
Pikitch, E.K. and Perez Comas, J.A., August 1993. Codend selection for groundfish species off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. Fisheries Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, 29 pp. (mimeo).
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