Chemical Tags in Ear Bones Track Alaska’s Bristol Bay Salmon

By on    At Sea, Featured, Science/Education  

Chemical Tags in Ear Bones Track Alaska’s Bristol Bay Salmon

A chemical signature recorded on the ear bones of Chinook salmon from Alaska’s Bristol Bay region could tell scientists and resource managers where they are born and how they spend their first year of life. This bone, called an otolith, accumulates layers as a fish grows, similar to trees. These “growth rings” are produced throughout […]

Tracking Salmon to their Birth Streams

By on    Featured, The Arctic and Alaska Science  

Strontium is a trace element and mineral people use to make glow-in-the-dark paints and toothpaste for sensitive teeth. In research for his college degree, Sean Brennan used strontium’s unique qualities to track salmon in an Alaska river. At Brennan’s Ph.D. defense at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, advisor Matthew Wooller praised Brennan’s ambitious plan and his […]