How selenium affects cutthroat trout in the Elk River system
With the Elk River in the news again, it seems timely to publish this selenium and cutthroat trout poster. Because selenium is invisible, it can be difficult to acknowledge and understand its impacts. This poster is a visual representation of published science on...
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The mystery of missing gill covers – Part 3 Selenium
How much selenium is in the Elk River? Based on my thirty two years of experience with selenium work throughout the western US and now this Canadian add-on, this in my mind is one of the most significant selenium inputs to a water body that I’ve experienced in my...
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The mystery of missing gill covers – Part 2
A look at gill cover deformities in aquaculture peer-reviewed research “...skeletal deformities are one of the most significant biological and recurrent problems affecting worldwide finfish aquaculture.” When an animal is 100% dependent on human inputs and care,...
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Another reference linking shortened gill covers to pollution
I just stumbled on this this morning. Another older study that links shortened gill covers to pollution: Again, this doesn't tell us exactly what causes fish to develop shortened opercula, but it's more evidence that gill cover deformity in wild fish is likely...
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The mystery of missing gill covers – Part 1
The bony gill cover or “operculum” protects the gills from physical damage. It also help fish breath. This is why a fish at rest pulses its jaws and gill covers. With the gill covers are closed and sealed, a fish creates a vacuum to suck in water. Then with a closed...
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Links: References to westslope cutthroat trout (WCT) deformities in the Elk River
As promised on my Facebook page weekly update at https://www.facebook.com/tinaportman.science/ Here are some links to some of my research into fish deformities in the Elk River. I'm looking into whether it's actually OK to publish an entire email chain, so in the...
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Why should we care about peer review?
Here’s an example of peer review in action. This is from a study on the effects of selenium contamination on two bird species that nest along creeks and rivers of the Elk Valley in southeastern British Columbia. I found this version first, presented at the 2004 BC...
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