Salmon are becoming river ‘ghosts’ as brutal droughts and violent floods cause unprecedented losses on their treacherous journey to the Pacific Ocean, scientists say.

A major study 10.1111/gcb.70854  led by the University of Essex, NOAA Fisheries, University of California, Davis, and Cramer Fish Sciences found that young Californian Chinook salmon face a deadly double threat from extreme weather and the destruction of historical wetland habitats they rely on.