Tippets: Restoration Assessment, Warm-blooded Fish, Satellite Spawning, Fishing Industry & Climate Change, Great Lakes Lampreys, Dam Removal Stats for 2015

February 17, 2016 By: Erin Block

  • High-tech microchips are helping scientists assess the benefits of river habitat restoration projects to salmon in the Pacific Northwest. “The region is putting great effort into restoring rivers and streams for fish, but what everyone wants to know is, is it working, and how well?” said Stephen Bennett, lead author of the study recently published in Fisheries. Via Phys.org.
  • The recently discovered opah is the first known warm-blooded fish. “Nature has a way of surprising us with clever strategies where you least expect them,” said Southwest Fisheries Science Center biologist Nick Wegner. “It’s hard to stay warm when you’re surrounded by cold water, but the opah has figured it out.” Via Live Science.
  • According to a recent study published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research, satellite imagery offers a new tool for identifying lake trout spawning habitat across the Great Lakes. Via The Great Lakes Echo.
  • Three of Montana’s fly fishing industry leaders, Robin Cunningham, Dan Vermillion, and Ed Tompkins, recently penned an open letter urging elected officials to take climate change and the reduction of carbon emissions seriously. Via The Montana Standard.
  • Scientists are using synthetic hormones to lure sea lampreys from the Great Lakes. “The broad goal is to understand how this animal makes decisions,” said Michael Wagner, a fish ecologist at Michigan State University. “Then, we want to use that understanding to guide lampreys’ movements by manipulating the landscape of fear and opportunity.” Via The New York Times.
  • American Rivers recently released end of the year statistics for 2015. In the last year, 62 dams were removed, restoring more than 570 miles of streams for the benefit of fish, wildlife and people. Via American Rivers.