SCIENCE NEWS: Final plan for recovering green sturgeon; Restored wetlands could lower local surface water temperatures; Young salmon on the rise; Recovery by eradication: Saving the marshes from nutria; and more …

In science news this week:

Final plan for recovering green sturgeon:  “One of Central California’s most ancient fish, the green sturgeon, now has a plan that will steer it toward recovery. NOAA Fisheries released a final recovery plan under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on August 21, 2018. The plan is non-regulatory and identifies steps that will guide state and federal actions to promote recovery of the green sturgeon’s threatened southern population.  NOAA Fisheries biologists divided the green sturgeon into two distinct populations segments based on what we know about the species. In 2006, the southern population – covering Central California – was listed as threatened under the ESA. The northern population was more abundant so ESA-listing was not warranted at the time. ... ”  Read more from NOAA here:  Final plan for recovering green sturgeon

Restored wetlands could lower local surface water temperatures:  “ … The [Delta’s] role as a central hub of California’s water supply has led to decades of challenges and legal controversy over land use in the delta, but today, restoration efforts are under way to restore wetlands in parts of the 2,800-square-kilometer delta. These restoration efforts provide a unique opportunity to study the climate effects of this land use transition.  Previous research has suggested that wetland restoration efforts could help mitigate the effects of climate change. However, most prior studies have focused on changes in greenhouse gas flux resulting from such efforts while neglecting biophysical impacts, such as changes in heat exchange with the atmosphere and changes in reflectance of solar radiation. ... ” Read more from EOS here:  Restored wetlands could lower local surface water temperatures

Young salmon on the rise:  “Salmon spawning in California’s Central Valley appear to be getting younger. We have previously reported on the prevalence of early-maturing Chinook salmon males, which are called jacks. We have observed jacks attempting to mate with larger adult females during field surveys, and have pondered their life history patterns (see “Hedging Your Bets” and “Jumping Jack“). The number of jacks returning to freshwater in a given year is used to forecast the number of adult Chinook that should return the following year, and we’ve discussed how difficult this process of prediction can be. We have even discussed new research that shows the high frequency of extremely early maturing males among hatchery Chinook in the Columbia River basin, and the increasing rarity of older, larger Chinook salmon across most of the species’ North American distribution. In recent years, the number of jacks returning to the Central Valley, as a percentage of total escapement, has been increasing, with a near-record high observed in 2017. This trend is concerning for several reasons … ”  Read more from FishBio here:  Young salmon on the rise

Recovery by eradication: Saving the marshes from nutria:  “Limiting ecological and economic damage done by wild animals sometimes requires killing them — always a hard sell to the general public. So the federal agency tasked with this responsibility — Wildlife Services, part of USDA’s Plant and Animal Health Inspection Service (APHIS) — is unpopular. No federal or state agency gets more savagely assailed by the media and the environmental community.  Most of the criticism is based on misinformation, misconceptions and the fact that there’s scant coverage of the agency’s non-lethal measures or its work to save native wildlife, including endangered species.  If non-native wildlife is not eradicated or at least controlled, entire native ecosystems can crumble. Consider nutria — aquatic rodents vaguely resembling small beavers or large muskrats that are native to South America. ... ”  Read more from the Cool Green Science here:  Recovery by eradication: Saving the marshes from nutria

Carrizo plain shows surprising winners and losers from prolonged drought:  “The Carrizo Plain National Monument is a little-known ecological hotspot in Southern California. Though small, it explodes in wildflowers each spring and is full of threatened or endangered species.  A long-term study led by the University of Washington and the University of California, Berkeley tracked how hundreds of in this valley fared during the historic that struck California from 2012 to 2015. It shows surprising winners and losers, uncovering patterns that may be relevant for .  The findings are published Aug. 20 in Nature Climate Change. … ”  Read more from PhysOrg here:  Carrizo plain shows surprising winners and losers from prolonged drought

Study uses seismic noise to track water levels in aquifers:  “Seismic noise—the low-level vibrations caused by everything from subway trains to waves crashing on the beach—is most often something seismologists work to avoid. They factor it out of models and create algorithms aimed at eliminating it so they can identify the signals of earthquakes.  But Tim Clements thinks it might be tool to monitor one of the most precious resources in the world—water.  A graduate student working in the lab of Assistant Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Marine Denolle, Clements is the lead author of a recent study that used seismic noise to measure the size and the water levels in underground aquifers in California. The technique could even be used to track whether and how aquifers rebound following precipitation, and understand geological changes that might occur as water is pumped out. The study is described in a recently-published paper in Geophysical Research Letters. … ”  Read more from PhysOrg here:  Study uses seismic noise to track water levels in aquifers

This map shows how Southern California ‘breathes’ water throughout the year:  “Researchers at the California Institute of Technology compiled hundreds of satellite images collected between 1992 and 2011 to measure how the ground in California rises and falls during the wet and dry seasons. When the images are put together, the result is a dramatic animated graphic showing the land seeming to inhale and exhale water.  “What we see through the rising and falling of the ground surface is the elastic response of the land to regular changes in groundwater level,” Bryan Riel, lead author and geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. ... ”  Read more from Live Science here:  This map shows how Southern California ‘breathes’ water throughout the year

Southern California coast emerges as a toxic algae hot spot:  “A new, comprehensive survey led by USC scientists shows the Southern California coast harbors some of the world’s highest concentrations of an algal toxin dangerous to wildlife and people who eat local seafood.  Episodic outbreaks of algae-produced toxins make headlines every few years when stricken marine animals wash ashore between Santa Barbara and San Diego. The USC research is the most thoroughgoing assessment yet and reveals the growing scale of the problem over the last 15 years. The researchers say their findings can help protect human health and environment by improving methods to monitor and manage harmful algal blooms. ... ”  Read more from Science Daily here:  Southern California coast emerges as a toxic algae hot spot

From salmon to SWMP: Kachemak Bay NERR Keeps A Close Eye on Delicate Alaskan Ecosystem: “Covering 372,000 acres of freshwater streams, glacial meltwaters, tidally driven ocean waters and pristine woods, Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (KBNERR) in Homer, Alaska is one of the most picturesque of the 29 NERRS located all over the nation. It is also the only sub-arctic NERR. While it is one of the most beautiful places in the country, it is also one of the most sensitive. Sub-arctic ecosystems such as Kachemak Bay have been known to show climate change effects more quickly and/or more severely than in some other parts of the globe. Some species living in Kachemak Bay are so sensitive to the environment that even seemingly small changes in climate can have important effects on their populations. Case in point: salmon. … ”  Read more from Environmental Monitor here:  From salmon to SWMP: Kachemak Bay NERR Keeps A Close Eye on Delicate Alaskan Ecosystem

New algorithm provides real-time monitoring of groundwater pollutants:  “A team of researchers has developed a new, low-cost method for continuous, real-time monitoring of groundwater pollution. The development could provide a critical boost for “green” remediation efforts that reduce groundwater contamination without adversely affecting the surrounding environment.  The study, entitled “In Situ Monitoring of Groundwater Contamination Using the Kalman Filter,” is the result of a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), which is run by the University of California, and the Savannah River National Laboratory. … ”  Read more from the University Network here:  New algorithm provides real-time monitoring of groundwater pollutants

Maven’s XKCD Comic Pick of the Week …

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About Science News and Reports: This weekly feature, posted every Thursday, is a collection of the latest scientific research and reports with a focus on relevant issues to the Delta and to California water, although other issues such as climate change are sometimes included. Do you have an item to be included here? Submissions of relevant research and other materials is welcome. Email Maven

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