Our Top Stories of 2020
To round out 2020, here’s a look back at our most popular stories of the year. It’s a mix of FISHBIO standards: salmonids, smelt, and the science Read More…
delta smelt
No Smelt, SHERLOCK – Rapid Genetic Tools to ID Fish in the Field
The white lab coats, sterile gloves, and meticulously controlled laboratories typically associated with genetic research are a far cry from the muddy, dusty, and utterly uncontrolled world Read More…
Don’t Be Salty: Operating the Suisun Marsh Tidal Gates to Benefit Delta Smelt
As delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) continue to decline throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, with recent population estimates numbering in the low thousands, novel approaches are being implemented Read More…
Too Hot for Company: Warm Temperatures Break up Smelt Shoals
For little fish on the menu of countless hungry predators, staying alive often means seeking refuge in the company of their own kind. When prey species form Read More…
Fish Food for Food Fish: More California Fish Introductions
Once the introduction of non-native fishes began in California, both for food and for sport, it didn’t take long for managers to decide they needed to augment Read More…
Navigating the Complex Intersections of the Bay-Delta
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the estuary it flows into are well known for being a maze of intersecting channels, sloughs, and bays. However, the complicated geography Read More…
Less Muddy Waters: Declining Wind Speed and Turbidity in the Delta
Climate change is affecting the environment in many ways, including raising sea levels, increasing ocean temperatures and acidification, and increasing air temperatures. But less well known is Read More…
Spotting Patterns in Fish Freckles
Some researchers spend so much time with the species they study that they eventually begin to recognize individual animals by their physical traits or unique “personality” quirks. Read More…
Hatchery Delta Smelt: Hope for the Species?
The beleaguered delta smelt continues to decline in California, leading some experts to believe it will soon be extinct in the wild. Meanwhile, scientists have successfully cultured Read More…
Peer Review for the California WaterFix
Winter storms have dumped copious amounts of precipitation over much of California in the last month, causing several reservoirs to operate under flood control conditions. Recent events, Read More…