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The UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS) was recently featured in a CBS News Bay Area segment about the research being conducted on salmon ear bones - known as otoliths - and about the restoration efforts that brought the salmon back to Putah Creek.

Like tree rings, each layer of the salmon's ear bone carries a chemical map of where the fish spent its life. In the Rypel Lab at the Center for Watershed Sciences, otoliths collected from Putah Creek were examined to discover when the salmon were born, when they started migrating to the sea, how long they were in the ocean, and when they returned. Lauren Hitt, a graduate student researcher at the center, found that most of the salmon spawned from a distant hatchery, and ended their lifecycle in Putah Creek. 

The resurgence of salmon in the restored creek brings renewed hope to efforts to revive the population. Regulators blame the decline in California's salmon population on climate-related issues like years-long drought and severe wildfires. Others blame state and federal water policies for making it tough for the salmon to survive. 

For the past 25 years, a combination of researchers, state workers, and volunteers have been cleaning up the creek. Salmon and other fish need constant flows of cold, fresh water to survive which was hampered by the building of Monticello Dam. The creek was neglected for decades until environmentalists sued to restore it. 

To learn more about the restoration efforts read the recent feature on the project: https://environment.ucdavis.edu/news/restored-stream-supports-new-wild-salmon-run 

Learn more about the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences by visiting their website at watershed.ucdavis.edu.