Robotic Sensors Uncover the Real Killers of Salmon at Dams: Pressure, Not Blades
Sensor Fish robots tracked what salmon experience in dam turbines and, when echoed in lab tests, showed that rapid decompression and gas emboli from swim-bladder expansion—driven by Boyle’s law—kill juvenile salmon far more often than blade strikes; this led to pressure-based turbine redesigns and the use of neutrally buoyant external tags to reduce mortality and improve survival estimates.
