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California WaterBlog

Tag: native fishes

  • Resilient California Fishes: Tule Perch

    By Peter B. Moyle and Tom L. Taylor . . . This is the second blog in a series on native California fishes that seem to be doing well despite multiple threats. They are still common and widely distributed, despite major changes to their habitats. The Tule Perch (Hysterocarpaus traskii) is an interesting species to…

  • California’s Amazing Terminal Lakes

    By Peter B. Moyle * This is a re-post of a blog originally published 11/26/2023. When Californians talk of lakes, they usually mean reservoirs, the 1500 or so artificial bodies of water behind dams. Alternately, they may be referring to the 4,000 or so natural lakes in the Sierra Nevada or to one of the…

  • Scientists find connections between California fishes and astrology 

    By Abby Deen  Move over, Pisces, because you’re no longer the only astrological sign connected to fishes! Recent studies by fish ecologists have found links between the native and non-native fishes of California and astrological sun signs. The characteristics of the twelve zodiac signs align perfectly with those of particular inland fishes, measured through comparisons…

  • Functional Flows are Good for California’s Native Fishes

    By Sarah Yarnell, Ethan Baruch, Andrew L. Rypel, and Rob Lusardi As California grapples with ongoing water management challenges, the question of “how much water to leave in streams” to support native fishes and aquatic species often arises. There is no easy answer to this question, as evidenced by the more than 200 environmental flow assessment methods that exist…

  • Anticipating Increases in Flood Risk for Yolo County and its Native Fishes

    by Peter Moyle  Close relatives of mine live in Asheville, North  Carolina.  Retired professors, they chose to move there in part because of its pleasant climate. This quiet community was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, on September 27, 2024. The path the hurricane took through Asheville was unprecedented and heavy rains and flooding resulted in widespread treefalls,…

  • Watching native fishes vanish

    By Andrew L. Rypel and Peter B. Moyle It’s an odd, disturbing feeling – watching populations of native fish species collapse and then disappear. Sometimes it happens quickly, other times it’s a series of slowstep change events. The end result is the same though – smaller populations, extinctions, less biodiversity. We put up a little…

  • California’s Amazing Terminal Lakes

    By Peter B. Moyle When Californians talk of lakes, they usually mean reservoirs, the 1500 or so artificial bodies of water behind dams. Alternately, they may be referring to the 4,000 or so natural lakes in the Sierra Nevada or to one of the few large natural lakes in the state, such as Lake Tahoe…

  • Schooling Fish: Behind the Scenes of Putah Creek Fish Sampling

    By Christine A. Parisek, Peter B. Moyle, Joshua Porter, and Andrew L. Rypel It’s a curious thing, teaching a classroom of future fish conservationists about revitalizing degraded ecosystems. Putah Creek was an unconventional place to teach ecology. After the creek turned bad, it stayed that way for decades – deteriorated habitat, nonexistent flow, garbage, rusted cars,…

  • Endangered Freshwater Fishes: Does California Lead the World?

    By Peter B. Moyle & Robert A. Leidy See Moyle and Leidy (2023) for much more detailed version of this essay. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108758826 Few things give the authors of this essay more pleasure than swimming in a California stream on a hot summer day, wearing a mask and snorkel, and observing diverse native fishes behaving naturally.…

  • Defending ‘Rough Fish’

    by Andrew L. Rypel Have any of you ever reached a tipping point with some topic, issue, or bone-to-pick? Well, one benefit of being a tenured professor is the ability to speak up when you feel like the science or data call for it. And so, after many years of silent stewing, I finally decided…