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Walling off nature: Exploring the consequences of our urge to claim ecosystems
By Andrew L. Rypel [This article first appeared on Tangled Nature.] Fig 1. Attempt to privatize…
californiawaterblog.com/2026/04/12/walling-off-n...
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California and the West’s Current Snow Drought in a Long-Term Context: Key Points for Researchers
By Kyle Greenspan . . . We are well into the 2026 water…
californiawaterblog.com/2026/04/05/california-an...
Fish domination of avian food webs
By Christine Parisek & Jon Walter Food webs are the backbones of ecosystems: they chart the flow of energy through ecosystems in terms of who eats whom, and their structure helps determine whether an ecosystem will be stable over time. While food web studies…
Life history differences between natural and hatchery-origin winter-run Chinook present opportunities and challenges for managing the endangered species
By Emily Chen, Katherine Lumahan, Rachel Johnson, Corey Phillis, George Whitman, Anna Sturrock, Will Satterthwaite, and Stephanie Carlson . . .…
Where the sturgeon go: how age-related differences in habitat use shape exposure of white sturgeon to population risks
By Jon Walter, Gabriel Singer, Scott Colborne, Andrew L. Rypel, and Erin Tracy . . . White sturgeon are a prominent member of the sturgeon family in North America. They are…
Resilient California Fishes: Sacramento Pikeminnow
By Peter B. Moyle and Thomas L. Taylor . . . The fresh waters of California support a diverse, highly endemic fish fauna. Many of them are on extinction trajectories. In this “Resilient California Fishes” blog series, we discuss native species…
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Getting Our Feet Wet: Bringing Photography Students into the Yolo Bypass
By Eliza Gregory . . . The first time I heard the phrase “flood-based ecosystem," I was in New South…
californiawaterblog.com/2026/03/08/getting-our-f...
Lessons Learned Measuring and Modeling Evaporation across California
By Dennis Baldocchi and Carlos Wang Rainfall and snow falling across the state have several fates. One is runoff to rivers, reservoirs and the ocean. Another is storage in the snowpack, soil and groundwater. The third is…
The truth is NOT in the eye of the beholder!
By Alexandra Chu and Danhong Ally Li . . . For those familiar with fish archival tissues, fish otoliths are likely one of the first things that come to mind. Otoliths are indeed remarkable tools, offering insights into the water chemistry and trace…
A Flood of Hope
By Ted Sommer My most inspiring bike ride this past year was not on a mountain or in some exotic destination. It was sixteen flat and muddy valley miles under overcast skies. My destination was a new concrete structure designed to reconnect the Sacramento River with its adjacent…
2025 Annual Report: Highlights from the Center for Watershed Sciences
The Center for Watershed Sciences unveils its inaugural annual report, featuring a letter from Director Dr. Karrigan Börk, insights into ongoing research, summaries of events, and the 2025 Strategic Plan. The report also…
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Students Take the Stage at the Spinning Salmon Showcase
By Becca VanArnam, Peggy Harte, Rachel Johnson, Carson Jeffres, and Miranda A. Lowe-Webb . . . Spinning Salmon Program California’s Chinook…
californiawaterblog.com/2026/02/01/students-take...
Not dry, but drought remains an issue, mid-wet season 2026
For the first time in 20 years, no part of California is classified as in drought, but conditions remain delicate. While precipitation levels are good, concerns linger over snowpack and groundwater recovery. California faces the dual…
Resilient California Fishes: Tule Perch
By Peter B. Moyle and Tom L. Taylor This is the second blog in a series on native California fishes that seem to be doing well despite multiple threats. They are still common and widely distributed, despite major changes to their habitats. The Tule Perch…
Three Generations of Stewardship: Exploring the Legacy of Environmental Protection on Putah Creek
By Petrea Moyle Marchand This is a cross-post from a blog featured on Consero Solutions. After the indefinite cancellation of school at the start of the Covid-19 quarantine, my Dad, Peter Moyle,…
Where are they now: Dana Myers
“Where are they now” is a series on the California WaterBlog. The series will celebrate the many alumni who got their start at the Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS) and have now gone on to bigger and better things. Blog posts from the “Where are they now” series…
Future Ancestors of Freshwater Fishes in California
By Peter B. Moyle Smoky sunset over Eagle Lake, Lassen County, CA - home of endemic Eagle Lake rainbow trout and other endemic fishes and invertebrates. Sept 23, 2014. Will this terminal lake and its unique ecosystem survive global warming? This…
Day 12 – California Water: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
By Karrigan Börk and Jay Lund Yolo bybass at sunset. Photo by Karrigan Börk, 2024. California is full of gifts that keep on giving. California water provides for a bounty of social, environmental, economic, and cultural benefits. Water is…
Day 11 – The Gift of Students
By Karrigan Börk You might think that teaching the same thing again every year would get old, or that taking field trips to the same location year after year would be repetitive. And, sure, gearing up to teach landlord-tenant law for the nth time can be a bit daunting.
Day 10 – One lucky penny
A juvenile water penny beetle (Eubrianax edwardsii). Photo credit: Christine Parisek. By Christine A. Parisek Imagine a time you were standing at the edge of a creek – perhaps small pebbles and cobblestone were stacked along the shallow water edge, aquatic vegetation…
Day 9 – A Visit From S.T. Nicholas
By Kimberly Evans Our view of the Suisun Marsh when the weather becomes chilly, including Kimberly’s (top right, that’s me!) dazzling tule perch, Abigale’s wondrous starry flounder (middle left), Lynette’s swift Sacramento splittail (middle right), Kyle’s…
Day 8 – Haikus
We invited haiku submissions from CWS members and friends to be a part of the 8th day of our California WaterBlog series, "12 Days of CWS". A haiku is a traditional Japanese three-line poem (5-7-5 syllables) that focuses on capturing a moment, feeling, or image. We hope you enjoy...…
Day 7 – Pickles and Hidden Gems: The UC Davis Fish Collection
By Rachel Alsheikh Dr. Peter Moyle and Rachel Alsheikh in the Ichthyology Collection room. On the UC Davis campus, past the Watershed Sciences Building, past the cows and the Arboretum, there’s a nondescript building with a locked room.…
Day 6 – Recharging Resilience: Balancing climate grief with curiosity and purpose
By Kira Zalis Waldman Intro to Water Science (ESM 100) students exploring UC Davis’ water systems through field visits - where curiosity, community, and on-the-ground learning helped transform questions into…
Day 5 – A Day in the Life of an Indoor Ecologist
By Jonathan Walter Many ecologists spend substantial time conducting research in the field – but for some of us, our skillsets (e.g., statistics, mathematical models, data science) lend themselves to a different, more indoor career. Here’s what a…
Day 4 – The Ghost of Carp-mas Past!
By Kim Luke Kim Luke holding a common carp (Cyprinus carpio) while sampling in the UC Davis Arboretum. Photo credit Greg Urquiaga. Back in 2019, I began a project called the Carp Dependent Ecosystem Urgent Management (Carp-DEUM) Project. I started this project…
Day 3 – An Ode to Gulls
By Lynette Williams Duman Clockwise from left to right: The Heermann’s Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, Short-billed Gull, and Lesser Black-backed Gull. A small slice of winter visitors to California. (Images courtesy of Lynette Williams Duman and Konshau Duman). There is no better…
Day 2 – Fish Eye View
By Miranda Bell-Tilcock Adult salmon eye lens. Photo Credit: Johnson-Jeffres Lab. That’s no moon. That is the lens of a fish eye. While it looms large in the photo, this lens is tiny, approximately 3-5mm in diameter, similar to a small bead on a friendship bracelet. How did…
Day 1 – Introducing “12 Days of CWS”
By Christine A. Parisek and Miranda Bell-Tilcock The California WaterBlog celebrates its 15th anniversary this January 2026, and so we thought we’d try out something a little special and festive this month. This December, we’re piloting a new short-post format…
What’s next in river science? Takeaways from the International Symposium of River Science (ISRS) conference
By Miranda Bell-Tilcock and Sarah Yarnell A big thank you to everyone who attended the International Symposium of River Science (ISRS) conference, hosted by the Center for Watershed Sciences…