Project Bay Bones investigates bonefish decline

Bonefish catches are on the decline, and researchers in the Southeast Environmental Research Center at Florida International University are trying to get to the bottom of this concerning trend.

To better understand the decline, the research team is analyzing ecological data from the past 35 years on water quality, climate, seagrass cover, and abundance and distribution of prey, as well as angler catches and effort. The three-year project is funded by Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

LINK (via: Phys.org)

Life in the Mariana Trench

A compilation of video footage captured from the University of Aberdeen’s Hadal-Lander in the Mariana Trench from 5000m to 10,545 m deep. The large fish inhabit the shallower depth (5000 to 6500m) are rat-tails, cusk eels and eel pouts. At the mid depths (6500 to 8000m) are the supergiant amphipods and the small pink snailfish.

The fragile snailfish at 8145m is now the deepest living fish.

150 Million Years of Fish Evolution in One Handy Graphic

Click to see full size.

LINK

For trout fishermen, climate change will mean more driving time, less angling

When trying to explain the potential effects of climate change on plants, fish and wildlife, scientists usually resort to language that fails to convey the impact of warming. Now, a study by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences fisheries researchers clearly explains the impact of projected warming waters on wild brook trout in the eastern U.S. for fishermen.

LINK (via:Phys.org)

Pollution Spurs Rapid Adaptation in Trout

Research on wild fish populations is adding to a growing body of evidence that human activities—particularly polluting the environment—can spur rapid evolution in complex life-forms.

LINK (via:Scientific American)

Plan to ease steelhead barriers stirs concerns about frogs

Image: USFWS/Rick Kuyper

Faster than a frog can hop over a drought-shrunken creek, San Francisco water officials' plan to help restore wild fish has spiraled into a regulatory debate highlighting the difficulty of trying to undo damage to one species without hurting others.

LINK (via: Contra Costa Times)