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A monogenean flatworm
Ecologists Use Museum Specimens to Dig into the Parasitic Past
New techniques to quantify what lived in and on preserved animals throw light on how parasite abundance has changed over time.
Ecologists Use Museum Specimens to Dig into the Parasitic Past
Ecologists Use Museum Specimens to Dig into the Parasitic Past

New techniques to quantify what lived in and on preserved animals throw light on how parasite abundance has changed over time.

New techniques to quantify what lived in and on preserved animals throw light on how parasite abundance has changed over time.

fish

Thomas Clements dissects fish
Researchers Watch Fish Rot, for Science
Mary Bates | Mar 1, 2023 | 4 min read
Recording the pH within decaying organs for the first time, researchers come closer to understanding why some soft tissues are more likely to be preserved as fossils than others.
A California Chinook Salmon Jumps into a waterfall during spawning season
Geneticists Light Up Debate on Salmon Conservation
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Feb 1, 2023 | 10+ min read
Splitting Chinook salmon into two groups based on their DNA could aid conservation efforts. But some researchers argue that this would be a misuse of the data.
Infographic comparing the fall and spring salmon runs
Infographic: An Incredible Journey
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Feb 1, 2023 | 1 min read
Chinook make their way up the Klamath River every year, but fewer and fewer arrive in the spring.
Timeline summarizing a series of petitions filed about the Chinook salmon
Timeline: An Extended Battle
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Feb 1, 2023 | 3 min read
Various concerned groups have been petitioning NOAA Fisheries to list spring-run Chinook salmon in Oregon and Northern California for over a decade.
A green and white fish swimming underwater
Rockfish Genes Hold Clues to Human Longevity
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Jan 12, 2023 | 3 min read
By analyzing the genomes of 23 remarkably long-lived fish species, a study found two metabolic pathways associated with longevity.
a yellow-ish fish skull is held up by metal prongs, with a rack of other museum collection items in the background
Fossilized Fish Teeth Could Be Earliest Evidence of Cooking
Katherine Irving | Nov 14, 2022 | 2 min read
Study authors say the teeth, dated around 780,000 years old, push back the date humans are known to have engaged in cooking by more than 600,000 years. 
A tropical angelfish 
Genome Spotlight: Freshwater Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare)
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Oct 27, 2022 | 4 min read
A high school student uses crowdfunding to produce the first genome assembly for this popular aquarium species, underscoring the increasing feasibility of whole-genome sequencing.
Green fish with boat behind
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill’s Hidden Impacts on Mahi-Mahi      
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Sep 28, 2022 | 5 min read
Mahi-mahi were more likely to be eaten and less likely to spawn after being exposed to sublethal concentrations of oil, raising concerns about the risks oceanic drilling pose to life in the ocean.
Drawing of fish with internal anatomy.
Researchers Visualize Heart From 380-Million-Year-Old Fish
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Sep 15, 2022 | 4 min read
A team of researchers in Australia have imaged fossilized soft organs of early jawed vertebrates for the first time, finding that our ancient fish ancestors’ hearts, livers, and stomachs are strikingly similar to ours.
An Edith’s checkerspot butterfly
Genome Spotlight: Edith’s Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha)
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Aug 25, 2022 | 3 min read
A high-quality genome sequence for this versatile insect will likely aid eco-evolutionary research.
Chinook salmon swimming in the water
Probable Chlorine Exposure Kills 21,000 Fish at UC Davis
Catherine Offord | Aug 16, 2022 | 2 min read
Threatened and endangered species were among the dead, likely poisoned overnight by a chlorination system used to decontaminate the animals’ tank water.
A yellow-orange, translucent artist's rendition of a yunnanozoan, an ancient wormlike fish, that highlights the arches that make up its cartilage skeleton.
This Simple Fish May Have Been One of the First Vertebrates
Dan Robitzski | Jul 7, 2022 | 5 min read
A fossil analysis suggests that the yunnanozoan, a wormlike fish that flourished around 520 million years ago, sported structures that were the precursors of the head and jaws of modern vertebrates.
caged panels submerged underwater
How Rising Temperatures Affect Ocean Predation
Andy Carstens | Jun 9, 2022 | 3 min read
A study yields insights into how predator-prey dynamics may shift with climate change, but many questions remain.
Archerfish in the deep transparent water.
Archerfish Defy Notion that Complex Vision Requires a Cortex
Amanda Heidt | Jun 1, 2022 | 5 min read
The fish species is separated from mammals by hundreds of millions of years of evolution, yet its seemingly primitive brain can handle many of the same elaborate visual tasks.
A school of juvenile spiny chromis (Acanthochromis polycanthus)
Human-Made Noise Disrupts Fish Parenting
Christie Wilcox, PhD | May 23, 2022 | 3 min read
The roar of nearby boat engines alters how fish care for and protect their young, resulting in fewer successful nests and smaller offspring, a study finds.
Giant manta ray swimming
Science Snapshot: Giant Manta Ray Sanctuary
Lisa Winter | May 20, 2022 | 2 min read
Tourist photos help identify endangered manta rays and highlight the efficacy of recovery efforts at Komodo National Park.
Photo of fish in the Haemulidae family
Fish Are Chattier Than Previously Thought
Connor Lynch | May 2, 2022 | 5 min read
Once thought to be silent, fish turn out to produce a range of vocalizations—so polluting the oceans with noise could pose a danger to them.
A tubifer cardinalfish
Genome Spotlight: Tubifer cardinalfish (Siphamia tubifer)
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Apr 28, 2022 | 3 min read
These tiny reef fish harbor luminous bacteria, and the chromosome-level assembly of the species’ genome may facilitate the duo’s use as a vertebrate model for symbiosis.
illustration of yellow fish with red stripe down its back
Can These Fish Do Math?
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Mar 31, 2022 | 4 min read
Scientists find that two species can be trained to distinguish quantities that vary by one.
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