Oyster deaths linked to ‘atmospheric rivers’
California storms diluted salt to deadly levels, researcher suggests
![oysters](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/121316_LH_oysters_main.jpg?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
SALT-FREE SHELLFISH Oysters (shown here) form reefs in bays and estuaries. Strong storms that struck California in 2011 nearly killed off a population of oysters in the San Francisco Bay — probably by diluting the salt water.
Kirk Mantay/EOL (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)