Tippets: Big Win for Santa Clara Steelhead, Barks of Piranhas

November 14, 2018 By: Erin Block

  • Conservation groups claim a huge win in a legal case against United Water Conservation District after a federal court judge ruled the water agency had failed to adequately protect endangered steelhead trout in the Santa Clara River. “A coalition of environmental groups had sued the United Water Conservation District, charging that the Vern Freeman Dam on the Santa Clara River restricts steelhead movement between the ocean, and their habitat. A judge agreed, saying the district could be doing more, and that the lack of action violated the federal Endangered Species Act.” Via KCLU.
  • By contracting muscles near their gas bladders, piranhas are able to make a “barking” noise. Professor Francis Juanes of Canada’s University of Victoria studies and catalogs these unique sounds for species identification and research. He will present the results of his study at the Acoustical Society of America’s 176th Meeting in Victoria, Canada. Via News Atlas.