SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS

The researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington said the cleanup, which began in the 1960s, left the small fish without their usual hiding places from trout, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Friday.

The scientists said the need for protection led to the stickleback's "reverse evolution" into an ancestral version of the species with bony armor and prickly spines. They said they compared samples of the fish dating from 1957 until the present and found that while most fish previously had small amounts of plating, nearly half are now fully-plated.

"As the water transparency increased, that made it easier for predatory cutthroat trout to see the sticklebacks better and they could capture them more easily", said Katie Peichel, a scientist with Fred Hutchinson's Division of Human Biology. "The sticklebacks with the complete set of plates could escape so they were favored."

 BREAKING STORIES

Canada confirms derailed rail car leaking

Climbers set speed record on El Capitan

New Calif. blaze threatens Santa Barbara

Water levels begin to fall on Mississippi

Higher temps up FEMA trailer formaldehyde

Fish poison suspect in court

Calif. wildfires spread, intensify

Republican candidates target ANWR's oil

Invisible waves shape continental slope

Chinese army's quake response said lacking

Naples garbage crisis to end

Intelligent surveillance system created

Humans, global warming threaten penguins

Moose tourists, hunters compete in Maine

Mississippi River recedes; storms on way

Nat'l Guard mobilized for Calif. wildfires

Submerged trees reduce global warming

R.I. decision clears lead paint makers

Fire threatens Arizona mountain resort

2 from Wash. tribe get jail for whale kill