The finger-sized Northern clingfish employs one of the best suction cups in the world. A small disk on its belly can attach to wet, slimy, even rough surfaces and hold up to 230 times its own body weight. A University of Washington team inspired by the clingfish’s suction power set out to develop an […]
Adult sockeye salmon returning to spawn in the lakes of Bristol Bay, Alaska.Jason Ching/University of Washington An ample buffet of freshwater food, brought on by climate change, is altering the life history of one of the world’s most important salmon species. Sockeye salmon in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region are skipping an entire year […]
Similar to how children learn, often unconsciously, to mimic the adults around them, a small, silvery ocean fish employs this tactic when teaching the next generation to find a suitable place to reproduce. Scientists have named the strategy “go with the older fish,” and it describes a key part of the Pacific herring lifecycle […]
Photo: A spawning sockeye salmon.Jason Ching/University of Washington Chemical signatures imprinted on tiny stones that form inside the ears of fish show that two of Alaska’s most productive salmon populations, and the fisheries they support, depend on the entire watershed. Sockeye and Chinook salmon born in the Nushagak River and its network of streams and […]