What we can learn from baby fish (do-do do-do-do-do)

Photo: Burke Museum
Photo: Burke Museum
April 16, 2020 | Timothy Kenney

We generally think of fish in their adult forms, that is after all the life stage we see them in at the grocery store or a restaurant menu. But fish were babies once too, or put more scientifically, in a larval life stage and these larvae can tell us a lot about the health of a fish population and the state of our oceans.

The Burke Museum has a larval fish collection that numbers in the millions thanks to a partnership with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and University of Washington researchers. Today we'll be talking with Jenna Barrett, a Burke ichthyologist, about how she works with these tiny larvae and the questions they can answer. Let's dive in!