Male coho salmon, dead at spawning grounds. Food for many predators, including a bald eagle recorded in a separate observation. Interestingly, the brains are the first part of the dead fish to be eaten. Better food value?
This coho carcass was discovered in lower Lagunitas Creek after spawning by the MMWD biologist team, who work collaboratively with SPAWN. The photo shows the removal of the inner ear bone, or otolith, to be preserved and incorporated into an ongoing research project based out of UC Berkeley using otolith micro-chemistry to determine the home watershed of individual spawning coho salmon.
This coho carcass was discovered in lower Lagunitas Creek after spawning by the MMWD biologist team, who work collaboratively with SPAWN. The photo shows the removal of the inner ear bone, or otolith, to be preserved and incorporated into an ongoing research project based out of UC Berkeley using otolith micro-chemistry to determine the home watershed of individual spawning coho salmon.