Study Looks At Movement of Plastic Through Urban Watershed And Impacts Of Ingestion By Fish
March 26th, 2020
In a sampling of fish from a creek that flows into San Diego Bay, nearly a quarter contain microplastics, according to a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE. The study, which examined plastics in coastal sediments and three species of fish, showed that the frequency and types of plastic ingested varied with fish species and, in some cases, size or age of fish.
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Good Columbia River Return For ESA-Listed Smelt This Year; Researchers Learning More On Spawning Activities
March 19th, 2020
Once the run is complete, a biologist with the Washington fishery department said that some 7.5 million pounds of eulachon, also known as Pacific smelt, will have entered the Columbia River. That’s 3 million pounds more than showed up in 2019.
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Study Looks At How Retreating Glaciers In Western North America Will Impact Salmon Populations; Some May Benefit
March 12th, 2020
A new Simon Fraser University-led study looking at the effects that glacier retreat will have on western North American Pacific salmon predicts that while some salmon populations may struggle, others may benefit.
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Idaho Study Seeks Insights Into Physiological Conditions Necessary For Female Steelhead To Spawn Second Time
March 5th, 2020
The physical condition of a female steelhead at its first spawning can predict the ability of the fish to spawn a second time a year later, according to a recent study that measured body chemicals and condition in female hatchery fish.
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Study Says Irrigation Of Cattle Feed Crops Single Largest Consumptive Use Of Water, 32 Percent In Western U.S.
March 5th, 2020
Across the globe, humans are using freshwater resources faster than those resources can be naturally replenished. In the Western United States, for example, water extractions from the Colorado River have exceeded total river flow, causing rapid depletion of water storage reservoirs. In addition, as these water sources dry up, species of fish, plants and animals are also adversely impacted.
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Researchers Put Seed Clouding To The Test In Idaho’s Payette Basin; Produced Snow For 67 Minutes
February 27th, 2020
For the first time, researchers have used radar and other tools to accurately measure the volume of snow produced through cloud seeding.
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Trophic Cascade: Warm Ocean, Sea Star Wasting Disease, Sea Urchin Explosion, Ravaged Kelp Forests Off California, PNW Coasts
February 13th, 2020
In 2014, a disease of epidemic proportions gripped the West Coast of the U.S. You may not have noticed, though, unless you were underwater.
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Study Finds 1-Year Hatchery Steelhead Males More Spawning Success Than 2-Year; Info Helps Optimize Rearing Strategies
January 30th, 2020
Steelhead reared in a hatchery for one year consistently outperformed males reared in the hatchery for two years when competing for spawning opportunities, although one and two year old female steelhead did not differ in their ability to produce offspring, according to recent study.
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Study: Willamette Reservoirs Producing Much Larger Salmon Smolts Than Streams; New ‘Grow Chinook’ Model
January 9th, 2020
Chinook salmon smolts that rear in upper Willamette River reservoirs grow much faster and are larger than their counterparts that rear in streams, according to a recent study.