Climate Change and Trout Active
Cold-water fishes like trout, salmon, and charr are especially vulnerable to shifting conditions related to climate change; for example, warmer temperatures and more variable hydroclimate. Native cutthroat trout of the southern Rocky Mountains now only occupy a tiny fraction of their historic habitats because of stressors such as non-native fishes, habitat fragmentation, and detrimental land management practices.
Using a combination of field and modeling approaches, we address how climate may influence native cutthroat trout and how conservation strategies can be tailored in a climate-smart approach to maximize conservation benefits under recent and projected climate conditions. Our research includes modeling surface temperatures for mountain lakes, and examining how altered thermal and hydrologic regimes affect critical life history events, such as spawning migrations. Ultimately, we will integrate these ecological patterns into state-of-the-art decision support models and use these models as tools to aid in the conservation of native cutthroat trout populations.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Aquatic Ecology and Contaminants
- Overview
Cold-water fishes like trout, salmon, and charr are especially vulnerable to shifting conditions related to climate change; for example, warmer temperatures and more variable hydroclimate. Native cutthroat trout of the southern Rocky Mountains now only occupy a tiny fraction of their historic habitats because of stressors such as non-native fishes, habitat fragmentation, and detrimental land management practices.
Using a combination of field and modeling approaches, we address how climate may influence native cutthroat trout and how conservation strategies can be tailored in a climate-smart approach to maximize conservation benefits under recent and projected climate conditions. Our research includes modeling surface temperatures for mountain lakes, and examining how altered thermal and hydrologic regimes affect critical life history events, such as spawning migrations. Ultimately, we will integrate these ecological patterns into state-of-the-art decision support models and use these models as tools to aid in the conservation of native cutthroat trout populations.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Aquatic Ecology and Contaminants
The Aquatic Ecology and Contaminants Team investigates critical ecological processes operating in aquatic and riparian ecosystems and how these processes are affected by human activities. We address questions through a combination of field studies, laboratory experiments, and modeling, while working at multiple levels of biological organization from cells through ecosystems. Topics include land... - Publications
- Partners