Artificial reefs are intentionally placed man-made structures that are constructed to provide habitat for fish and invertebrates. They are made of dense, durable materials such as scuttled ships and barges, decommissioned military vehicles, rubble...
Fisheries and habitat scientists often focus on how vegetation and physical structures can create or enhance habitat for fish. But a recent article turned the tables by evaluating how salmon carcasses provide nutrients that...
In many coldwater streams in North America, nonnative trout are replacing native trout populations through hybridization, competition, and predation. Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis; Figure 1) are a species native to eastern North America. Throughout...
Estuaries are found where a river meets the ocean. It is a place characterized by mixing water of different physical and chemical properties. Physical properties of estuarian habitats depend on their contour, aquatic vegetation,...
Trophic cascades are a well-known phenomenon where the removal of predators often causes an explosion of prey species’ populations due to reduced predation rates. However, an often overlooked facet of trophic cascades is that...
An invasive insect could threaten salmon habitat in the Pacific Northwest. The green alder sawfly (Monosoma pulveratum) was first documented in North America in the 1990s and may have been introduced through shipping dunnage...
Horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) are a species of marine arthropod native to the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from the Gulf of Maine to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico (Figure 1). Despite their...
Macrophytes (aquatic vegetation) are used by many fish species as juvenile nursery habitat and refuge from predators. Lakes in the American Midwest are characterized by abundant macrophyte communities with many being privately owned. In...
Fish can be tricky to count. Many fish are sensitive to disturbances in their surrounding environment, such as from an approaching diver conducting surveys, so care must be taken to ensure that survey methods...
The open ocean is the Sahara Desert of fish habitat: it is relatively barren, sparsely populated, has low species diversity and low primary productivity. By contrast, coastal zones provide a glut of habitat in...
