On Oregon’s Alsea River a broodstock program is raising fish using both angler-caught fish and those fish that swim into the hatchery trap. These data beg the question of whether offspring of angler-caught broodstock would be more likely to be caught by anglers than offspring of adults that voluntarily swam into a trap. We dig into a recent study examining this in this edition of Science Friday.
Science Friday: Oldie but a goodie on steelhead fry behavior in intermittent streams
This week we review a Master’s Thesis from John David Faudskar, conducted when Faudskar was at Oregon State University in 1980. This study examined how young steelhead behaved during their first summer of life in the Rogue River watershed in Oregon.
Science Friday: Update on the Hood Canal bridge and survival of steelhead smolts
This week’s Science Friday is an update on a topic we have covered before: the effect of the Hood Canal bridge on survival of steelhead smolts passing through Hood Canal.
Science Friday: Juvenile steelhead finding refuge in tributary mouths
Summer is over, but before we put it behind us, it’s worth considering that the summer of 2020 was likely one of the two hottest summers in the northern hemisphere since humans began measuring the temperature of air and water. Hot temperatures directly—and sometimes dramatically—affect steelhead and many other salmonid species. So our Science Friday review this week of a study of steelhead in California’s Eel River is timely.
Science Friday: Juvenile steelhead feast or famine depending on the number of spawning salmon
In this week’s Science Friday post, we discuss a new paper where we show how high numbers of salmon may be more important than we previously thought for steelhead.
Science Friday: Steelhead hopscotching from one cold-water refugia to another in the Columbia
This is a topic we have discussed several times in the past, but given the critical nature of cold water refugia, and as the warming climate makes the warmest time of year even hotter, it’s a good time to review what we know about these crucially important habitats.
Science Friday: How do salmon and steelhead in the ocean find their way home?
Have you ever wondered how salmon and steelhead navigate in the big blue? It’s not like there is a road map, or a GPS – or is there?
Quiz: How much do you know about steelhead biology and management?
So how much do you really know about steelhead biology and their management? Take a crack at our 12-question quiz that was developed by our team here at Wild Steelheaders United and test your knowledge.
Hyperstability in fishing: Ever wonder why you catch fish even when they are greatly depleted?
In this week’s Science Friday, we hit on the concept of hyperstability, which occurs when catch rates remain high even as fish populations decline.
Science Friday: The risks and rewards of barging steelhead smolts
Sea-run Snake River fish species must pass through eight dams, four in the Snake and four in the Columbia. Barging some of them past these dams helps them avoid most of the harmful impacts associated with the hydropower system.