Burrowing shrimp are more than just good bait for sturgeon and salmon or a nuisance to oyster farmers.They are actually a key part of their environments, and their loss could result in serious ecological consequences. To better understand how to manage their populations along the West Coast, scientists from Oregon State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service, and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center have teamed up to study the diets of burrowing shrimp and the enormous impact they have on the estuaries they inhabit.