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Fish and Climate Change (FiCli) Database: Informing climate change adaptation and management actions for freshwater fishes
Fish and Climate Change (FiCli) Database: Informing climate change adaptation and management actions for freshwater fishes
Recreational and inland fisheries are invaluable to their local communities, providing economic support, food security, and enhanced social connection with natural areas. CASC scientists examine how climate change is contributing to aquatic habitat loss, increased river and lake temperatures, and invasive aquatic species to help fisheries adapt to these changes. Explore our science on fish below.
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Forecasting Tools to Inform the Management of Native Fishes and Their Habitats in a Drought Sensitive Terminal Lake System
Project Overview Terminal lake systems, water sources that are confined to streams, wetlands, and seasonal lakes that do not flow into the ocean, are greatly impacted by climate effects such as drought, reduced snowpack and increased wildfire activity. As a result, managers are faced with a lack of resources to study these aquatic habitats and the residing native fish. Researchers...
Building community-based monitoring partnerships between rural schools and wildlife refuges in Alaska
Project Overview In Alaska, winters are becoming shorter and more unpredictable, leading to changes in lake and river ice, impacting access to hunting grounds, fuel wood transportation and recreation for local communities. Researchers supported by this Alaska CASC project will revitalize and modernize a freshwater ice observation network with a youth-centric partnership that teams...
Does Less Ice Cover Lead to More Turbulent Overwinter Conditions on Great Lakes Fish Spawning Reefs?
Project Overview Declining winter ice cover in the Great Lakes can affect how winds and waves influence coldwater fish reproduction on reefs, as ice cover may shield fish from these forces. Researchers supported by this Midwest CASC project will measure water movement and ice cover in Lake Erie to model future scenarios, helping fishery managers in the region make habitat restoration and...
Identifying the Environmental Limits of Aquatic Species in Prairie Streams to Build Climate Resilience
Project Overview Climate change and human activities are threatening many sensitive aquatic species in prairie streams across the Great Plains region. Researchers supported by this North Central CASC project will combine and analyze data collected independently by Great Plains states to identify thresholds of environmental change that may lead to species loss and changes in aquatic...
Impacts to Ecosystems and Fisheries in Northwest Alaska from “Rusting Rivers”
Project Overview In Northwest Alaska, “rusting rivers” are becoming increasingly apparent as climate change causes ancient spring seeps to re-emerge after permafrost melts. While they have become more common over the past few years, very little is understood about their impacts on stream food webs. Researchers supported by this Alaska CASC project will bridge the knowledge gap by...
Leveraging Existing Data to Assess the Vulnerability of Native Salmonid Populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area
Project Overview: Native Yellowstone cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYA) are ecologically and socio-economically important species, but are threatened by drought, rising water temperatures, habitat loss, and non-native species. Researchers supported by this North Central CASC project will use climate data and extensive population records to...
Predicting Climate-Driven Invasive Fish Spread to Support Indigenous and State Freshwater Management in Florida
Project Overview Climate change and invasive fish species threaten the resilience and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems in the Southeastern U.S., including the Everglades, which are vital to the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Researchers supported by this Southeast CASC project will model invasive fish distributions under changing climate conditions and refine the model...
Research to Action for Yukon River Salmon: Adapting to Climatic, Food-Web, and Habitat Changes
Project Overview Salmon populations in the Yukon River Basin have plummeted to historic lows, disrupting fisheries, fueling conflicts, and impacting communities that have relied on salmon for generations. Researchers supported by this Alaska CASC project will combine traditional knowledge, field data, and modeling to identify the key drivers of salmon decline and create tools to guide...
A Fresh Set of Tools: New Information for Managing Fisheries During Changes in River Discharge
The Bonnet Carré spillway (BCS) is a flood-control structure along the Lower Mississippi River designed to prevent flooding in the city of New Orleans by diverting excess water into the nearby Lake Pontchartrain estuary. Alarmingly, the BCS was opened as many times over the past decade (2011–2020) as it had been over the six prior decades combined (1951–2010), with devastating effects on...
Climate Adaptation for Data-Limited Inland Fisheries
Inland fisheries have tremendous cultural, economic, and subsistence value. However, climate change brings new stresses to land-locked fisheries that raise novel challenges for resource managers. One fundamental challenge in inland fisheries is how to best assess and manage data-limited fisheries when resources are finite and uncertainty is pervasive. To address this challenge, we will...
Coastal Indigenous Fisheries Assessment (CIFA) Using Archaeological and Ecological Perspectives
Many inland bodies of water in western Louisiana are receiving too much sediment and nutrient pollution from upstream which has caused declines in the health of many fisheries. These bodies of water include many traditional lake-based fisheries of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana (CTL), and fisheries used by visitors, providing critical tourism and economic development dollars to the...
Developing a Next-Generation Climate Change Vulnerability Index in Support of Climate-Informed Natural-Resource Management
Project Overview Climate change threatens plants and animals across the US, making it important to have tools that can efficiently assess species’ vulnerabilities. In this project, CASC scientists and NatureServe are collaborating to update a popular Climate Change Vulnerability Index to include the latest scientific data, improved metrics, and new user-friendly technology. The tool will...