Just heard about this. Makes glowing danios look like a near miss.
The normal life cycle for sea living salmon is a tough one. Eggs are laid in FW rivers--the adults migrate from the sea to the place they were born. The fry live in FW for a period of time, then migrate to the sea, where they live until maturity--9 years. The they fight their way back, spawn, and die. As a result, moderation of river ways, habitat, and pollutants leave them clinging to survival--fewer and fewer make it back to reproduce each year.
So someone had a bright idea--rainbow trout are in the same family as salmon, but they can reproduce in just one year! So, salmon were genetically modifed with rainbow genes. Viola--a salmon that will survive spawning, and breeds much sooner. What a great trick, right?
Then, the vegetation along the spawning rivers was examined. 40% of the vegetation utilized carbon from the decaying bodies of the salmon. More than 90% of the carbon found in the insects comes from the dead fish. Without the yearly infusion of dead salmon, 40% of the streamside trees, forbs, and grasses will die off. Ditto for 90% of the insects--and the other animals the utilize these plants and bugs will be out of luck.
So, by attempting to 'help' one critter in the system, the whole thing will be toppled.
The normal life cycle for sea living salmon is a tough one. Eggs are laid in FW rivers--the adults migrate from the sea to the place they were born. The fry live in FW for a period of time, then migrate to the sea, where they live until maturity--9 years. The they fight their way back, spawn, and die. As a result, moderation of river ways, habitat, and pollutants leave them clinging to survival--fewer and fewer make it back to reproduce each year.
So someone had a bright idea--rainbow trout are in the same family as salmon, but they can reproduce in just one year! So, salmon were genetically modifed with rainbow genes. Viola--a salmon that will survive spawning, and breeds much sooner. What a great trick, right?
Then, the vegetation along the spawning rivers was examined. 40% of the vegetation utilized carbon from the decaying bodies of the salmon. More than 90% of the carbon found in the insects comes from the dead fish. Without the yearly infusion of dead salmon, 40% of the streamside trees, forbs, and grasses will die off. Ditto for 90% of the insects--and the other animals the utilize these plants and bugs will be out of luck.
So, by attempting to 'help' one critter in the system, the whole thing will be toppled.
:sad :rant: