from the this-one-is-for-TheMightyBuzzard dept.
Trout don't follow the weather forecast:
UC visiting assistant professor of biology Michael Booth studied the migration patterns of steelhead, a subpopulation of rainbow trout that migrates to the Pacific Ocean, where the growing fish hunt and feed until they return to their natal freshwater streams to spawn.
While working at the United Water Conservation District, Booth used 19 years of records from a designated fish trap on southern California's Santa Clara River to identify potential environmental drivers that spur some fish to make the arduous trip to the Pacific Ocean. The trap is part of a diversion off the river where fish can be counted and, if necessary, relocated downstream past the river's low or dry spots.
He found that steelhead migration was triggered by the lengthening daylight of spring rather than factors like recent rains, which had little correlation to migration.
[...] Booth said there are big genetic benefits to making the dangerous trip to the Pacific Ocean. Steelhead grow much faster in the food-rich ocean than trout that remain in the freshwater streams. Fish that migrate to the ocean have an advantage in passing on their genes to subsequent generations when they return to spawn, he said.
"A 3-year-old resident trout might be a foot long, but a steelhead might be 3 feet long," he said. "Their fecundity is directly related to size. So the bigger the fish, the more eggs it can make. There's a really strong genetic advantage to making more babies."
[...] "There are a lot of challenges in the Santa Clara River. The water levels go up and down," he said. "This river has a massive sediment load. During a big storm, the river bed can erode 20 feet. The water looks like a smoothie coming downstream."
[...] "We thought the fish would migrate when the river was flowing and wouldn't migrate in years without storm events," Booth said. "It turned out that wasn't the case. They migrated regardless of whether the river was flowing to the ocean."
Journal Reference:
Michael T. Booth. AFS Publications, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (DOI: 10.1002/nafm.10475)
(Score: 2) by Bot on Sunday September 13 2020, @04:52AM (4 children)
Artist: Steelheads Out Of Rainbow Trouts
Title: WDGAF bout the weather
Length: 2:33
Format: mp3, 320k 16bit
Genre: Hard Rock
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Sunday September 13 2020, @04:55AM (3 children)
Album: 3 feet long and rising
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 13 2020, @05:07AM (2 children)
Trout, and nothing but Bot. I suspect something.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Sunday September 13 2020, @09:01AM
/me slaps ac around a bit with a large trout
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday September 14 2020, @05:08PM
Seems like he's phishing for something.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 13 2020, @05:20AM (1 child)
One of our local stores usually has steelhead trout. For a treat every few weeks, it is delicious--looks like salmon, but tastier imo. I believe the fish we get have been farm raised, some from Scandinavia and some from S. America (not quite as tasty).
No idea how fish farming can work for a fish that migrates from fresh to salt water and back...anyone know how this is managed?
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Sunday September 13 2020, @06:26AM
Salmon migrate from the ocean into fresh water to spawn. The young fish then work their way to the ocean, then feed there for a few years before returning to the stream where they were born to spawn. Doesn't matter if they are Atlantic or Pacific salmon.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 13 2020, @12:22PM
They probably also don't follow the sports or entertainment segments of the news programs either.
(Score: 2) by legont on Sunday September 13 2020, @02:51PM (2 children)
Steelhead was introduced into streams in NY that flow into the Great Lakes. It worked exactly like with the oceans and can be viewed as farming of sorts.
I used to fish it in 90s. Fresh and smoked it is so delicious - nothing tastes better for me. The authorities made it very hard to catch though by limitation of the hook sizes for example. Your typical steelhead would just shake you off and go.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday September 13 2020, @08:51PM (1 child)
Yeah, they're a pain to catch (barbless hooks only in this stretch of the river? WTF?) but that's not why I don't fish for them. I stick to crappie and catfish because they're lighter, flakier, nowhere near as oily, and a whole lot less fishy tasting. Same reason I don't fish for black bass.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by legont on Monday September 14 2020, @01:43AM
I quit first because Wall Street took all the time, but later I couldn't go into freezing water without major consequences.
As per "oily", that's what is good for man's heart and productive system ;)
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.