Sex that moves mountains: Spawning fish can influence river profiles

Sex that moves mountains: Spawning fish can influence river profiles

By Eric Sorensen

Source: WSU News

10/19/2017

It turns out that sex can move mountains.

A Washington State University researcher has found that the mating habits of salmon can alter the profile of stream beds, affecting the evolution of an entire watershed. His study is one of the first to quantitatively show that salmon can influence the shape of the land.

Alex Fremier, lead author of the study and associate professor in the WSU School of the Environment, said female salmon “fluff” soil and gravel on a river bottom as they prepare their nests, or redds. The stream gravel is then more easily removed by flooding, which opens the underlying bedrock to erosion.

“The salmon aren’t just moving sediment,” said Fremier. “They’re changing the character of the stream bed, so when there are floods, the gravel is more mobile.”

The study, “Sex that moves mountains: The influence of spawning fish on river profiles over geologic timescales,” appears in the journal Geomorphology.

Pend Oreille Lake

Salmon, Chinook

Continue...

News Id		Source	Stamp	country
2976	How leaks in U.S. ban on Russian seafood are undermining efforts to stop Putin’s war machine	Economy	2022-04-15	RU
2977	Behemoth Bluefin Tuna Caught Off Florida Coast Could Be a New State Record	outdoorlife	2022-04-20	US
2978	Trojan trout: could turning an invasive fish into a ‘super-male’ save a native species?	theguardian	2022-04-21	US
2979	Lawsuit accuses Gorton's of 'greenwashing' its tilapia	salemnews	2022-04-22	US
2980	Thai caviar, anyone? Farm produces delicacy in tropical climate	freemalaysiatoday	2022-04-14	TH
2981	Rare metre-long ‘vampire fish’ spotted at Diglis Fish Pass	worcesternews	2022-04-13	UK
2982	Officials warn fish from northern Connecticut river contain high levels of PFA	fox61	2022-04-08	US
2983	Russian trawlers have access to £16m of fish in British waters despite fishing ban	express	2022-04-10	UK
2984	Nevada scientists report highest population in decades of rare Devils Hole pupfish	knpr	2022-04-12	US
2985	Illinois man sentenced in Kentucky to a year in caviar sale	foxillinois	2022-04-14	US
2986	‘Threat worse than pollution’: Dangerous fish found in the Hudson	timesunion	2022-04-14	US
2987	Bizarre cannibalistic fish with fangs washes up on SF Bay Area beach	SFGATE	2022-04-11	US
2988	Canadian researchers contribute to first-ever library of fish sounds	citynews	2022-03-02	CA
2989	Federal court judge sets aside DFO order to phase out B.C. fish farms	cbc	2022-04-26	CA
2990	Fishing rodeo for senior citizens reels in happy fishermen	nj	2022-04-16	US
2991	Anchovies' 'frantic behaviour' during spawning causes turbulence in waters and helps to circulate nutrients	dailymail	2022-04-07	UK
2992	"A fish of a lifetime": Record 131-pound catfish caught in Mississippi	cbs news	2022-04-12	US
2993	Sharing a marine reserve with fishers: Q&A with Belize Fisheries’ Adriel Castañeda	mongabay	2022-04-14	BZ
2994	Marine veteran promotes healing for people and the planet through fly fishing	wearethemighty	2022-04-15	US
2995	The underwater “eye” that is unlocking ocean secrets	vox	2022-04-20	US
2996	Hundreds of dead fish found in Vancouver Island creek	cbc	2021-06-07	CA
2997	Lake Champlain threatened by new invasive fish	wcax	2022-04-06	CA
2998	‘Devil vessels’: China’s fishing fleet faces claims of pillage and abuse	FT Daily Digest	2022-04-04	UK
2999	Sabah marine police foil diesel smuggling and fish bombing activities	nst	2022-04-07	US
3000	Koi lovers gather in San Jose for 14th annual competition, exhibition	mercury news	2022-04-19	US

119 of [218 - pages.]