Tippets: Coldwater Species and Climate Change, Wild vs. Farmed DNA, Roadways to Recovery, Atlantic Salmon Stock, Gila Trout Restoration, Saving Scotland’s Ruddy Duck

March 16, 2016 By: Erin Block

  • Dr. Mariah Meek of Cornell University studies the capacity of coldwater trout species to adapt to a warming climate. Read a recent Q&A with Dr. Meek on her research on trout populations in upstate New York, via The Huffington Post.
  • The hatchery vs. wild question has been debated for years, and a recent report finds that after only one generation of domestication, the DNA of hatchery steelhead trout is substantially different from the DNA of steelhead whose parents were wild. “The salmon-saving effort is just too expensive to get wrong,” states a recent op-ed on Oregon Live.
  • Poorly designed (or damaged) culverts turn roadways into barriers to fish passage. But as dams are demolished and road systems improved, salmon populations are reaping the benefit. Read more via The Hill.
  • Atlantic salmon, the native salmon that used to inhabit the northern Atlantic region, is a species now represented by an impostor: farmed salmon. The change in genetic stock has been a decades-long decline, writes Kathleen McKeoghain via EcoWatch.
  • Restoration efforts on New Mexico streams are making big strides in gila trout recovery. “Restoring Gila trout is to the benefit of all New Mexicans, especially to anglers who enjoy going out and catching them,” says Dan Williams, Game and Fish spokesman. Via Albuquerque Journal.
  • Angling may be the key to saving a rare duck species in Scotland. “Now new research suggests the main food source for the ducks, freshwater grubs and insects, is being gobbled up by hungry fish.” Via The Scotsman.