Early-arriving endangered Chinook salmon take the brunt of sea lion predation on the Columbia

The Columbia River is home to one of the West Coast’s most important Chinook salmon runs. Through late spring and early summer, mature fish return from the sea and begin their arduous journey upriver to spawn. In recent years, these fish have faced an additional challenge: hungry California sea lions. A new University of Washington and NOAA Fisheries study found that sea lions have the largest negative effect on early-arriving endangered Chinook salmon in the lower Columbia River.

Studying Yellowstone’s ravens during COVID-19

Summers for UW Environment students are often spent working as interns, taking summer classes or accompanying faculty conducting field research. But the spring and summer of 2020 were anything but typical as COVID-19 forced faculty and students to figure out alternative plans or rethink research. With the belief that many students learn best when doing, known as immersive learning, many researchers have had to pivot to still provide students with the resources and opportunities normally available.

Aquatic hitchhikers: Using mobile technology to predict invasive species transmission

Invasive Eurasian milfoil entangled on a boat and trailer.

A cooler full of fish might not be the only thing anglers bring back from a trip to the lake. Unknowingly, they may also be transporting small aquatic “hitchhikers” that attach themselves to boats, motors ― and even fishing gear ― when moving between bodies of water. Considerable research shows that aquatic invasive species can completely transform ecosystems by introducing disease, out-competing and eating native species, altering food webs, changing physical habitat, devastating water-delivery systems and damaging economies.

Armored fish: the knights of the deep sea

Lateral scan of the north spearnose poacher

For centuries, armor has protected warriors in combat, providing a defensive barrier and preventing damage to whatever is underneath its protective shell. It has seen many iterations as the years go on, always improving and allowing for more agility while decreasing in weight with the advancement of technologies allowing for better materials. That is exactly how armor on fish has changed over time, evolving from the clunky thick head shields seen on the earliest fishes to the scales we now see on modern fish.

Fighting fire with fire in the Methow Valley

Editor’s note: Each year wildfires impact the landscape and change the way of life for many communities around the world. Last fall, UW News went to the Methow Valley — the heart of fire country — to learn more about how UW’s experts play a role in shaping how we fight and live with fires here in Washington. Here’s one story: WINTRHOP, Wash.