What's the Deal with Wisconsin's Walleye?

This video was created as part of the Climate Change Science and Management Webinar Series hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center.

In this webinar, the speakers describe the status of ongoing research examining trends in Wisconsin’s sport fish communities and drivers of those trends. Although walleye populations and recruitment have declined in most lakes, some populations have remained stable and others have increased, suggesting that the relative importance of various drivers differs among lakes. The research team developed a regional model of lake temperatures used to identify thermal characteristics of lakes associated with fish community changes.

This research on fish community changes in Wisconsin is relevant to managers and researchers interested in how environmental change may influence lake communities, and how management responses can be most effective.