Climate change is having a significant impact on fish, especially inland fish that rely on colder water for living and breeding. Common causes of drought, such as decreased precipitation and snowmelt runoff, combined with warmer temperatures are creating warmer water which is stressing many fish. Fish most at risk right now include sockeye salmon, lake trout, and walleye. Some fish, such as the smallmouth bass, are actually expanding their range northward as the climate changes.
Consequences of Climate Change for Mountain Lakes and Native Cutthroat Trout
At the Fort Collins Science Center, scientists are researching the potential impacts of climate change on mountain lake systems and native cutthroat trout. They have developed a bayesian network model as a decision support system to manage cutthroat trout under a changing climate. These models draw on current habitat conditions and downscaled Global Climate Models to predict persistence and will aid in the allocation of conservation resources related to cutthroat trout.
Scientists at the USGS and University of Montana are using novel modeling techniques and empirical data to study how climate change may drive landscape scale impacts that affect freshwater habitats and populations of key salmonid species (bull trout, cutthroat trout, and steelhead) throughout the Pacific Northwest. They are developing new frameworks for assessing the vulnerability of multiple freshwater species to climate change and other stressors in complex stream networks, which will aid managers in pro-actively implementing conservation programs to increase resiliency and adaptive capacity of aquatic species.
Climate Change and Freshwater Fish
A collaborative team of scientists from USGS, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the University of Wisconsin developed a thermodynamic model of water temperatures using downscaled climate data and lake-specific characteristics to estimate daily water temperature profiles for 2,148 lakes in Wisconsin under contemporary (1989–2014) and future (2040–2064 and 2065–2089) conditions. The results of their study have been highlighted in an interactive data visualization.
FishVis Mapper presents possible changes in fish species occurrence in response to global climate change. Global climate change effects on fish species occurrence in streams were evaluated by means of a number of linked general circulation, groundwater recharge, stream temperature, and streamflow exceedance models. FishVis was developed to help visualize, search, and download these potential climate-driven responses for 13 fish species in streams across the Great Lakes region.
Below are publications associated with this project.
FishVis, A regional decision support tool for identifying vulnerabilities of riverine habitat and fishes to climate change in the Great Lakes Region
Climate change effects on North American inland fish populations and assemblages
Climate variables explain neutral and adaptive variation within salmonid metapopulations: The importance of replication in landscape genetics
Genetic diversity is related to climatic variation and vulnerability in threatened bull trout
Bull trout in the Boundary System: managing connectivity and the feasibility of a reintroduction in the lower Pend Oreille River, northeastern Washington
Combining demographic and genetic factors to assess population vulnerability in stream species
Invasive hybridization in a threatened species is accelerated by climate change
- Overview
Climate change is having a significant impact on fish, especially inland fish that rely on colder water for living and breeding. Common causes of drought, such as decreased precipitation and snowmelt runoff, combined with warmer temperatures are creating warmer water which is stressing many fish. Fish most at risk right now include sockeye salmon, lake trout, and walleye. Some fish, such as the smallmouth bass, are actually expanding their range northward as the climate changes.
USGS Research Ecologist Clint Muhlfeld holds a native westslope cutthroat trout in Glacier National Park. GNP is recognized as a range-wide stronghold for genetically pure westslope cutthroat trout. However, rainbow trout invasion and hybridization threatens these populations.Public domain Consequences of Climate Change for Mountain Lakes and Native Cutthroat Trout
At the Fort Collins Science Center, scientists are researching the potential impacts of climate change on mountain lake systems and native cutthroat trout. They have developed a bayesian network model as a decision support system to manage cutthroat trout under a changing climate. These models draw on current habitat conditions and downscaled Global Climate Models to predict persistence and will aid in the allocation of conservation resources related to cutthroat trout.
Scientists at the USGS and University of Montana are using novel modeling techniques and empirical data to study how climate change may drive landscape scale impacts that affect freshwater habitats and populations of key salmonid species (bull trout, cutthroat trout, and steelhead) throughout the Pacific Northwest. They are developing new frameworks for assessing the vulnerability of multiple freshwater species to climate change and other stressors in complex stream networks, which will aid managers in pro-actively implementing conservation programs to increase resiliency and adaptive capacity of aquatic species.
Climate Change and Freshwater Fish
A collaborative team of scientists from USGS, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the University of Wisconsin developed a thermodynamic model of water temperatures using downscaled climate data and lake-specific characteristics to estimate daily water temperature profiles for 2,148 lakes in Wisconsin under contemporary (1989–2014) and future (2040–2064 and 2065–2089) conditions. The results of their study have been highlighted in an interactive data visualization.
FishVis Mapper presents possible changes in fish species occurrence in response to global climate change. Global climate change effects on fish species occurrence in streams were evaluated by means of a number of linked general circulation, groundwater recharge, stream temperature, and streamflow exceedance models. FishVis was developed to help visualize, search, and download these potential climate-driven responses for 13 fish species in streams across the Great Lakes region.
Screenshot of the FishVis fish visualization tool. Largemouth bass. - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
FishVis, A regional decision support tool for identifying vulnerabilities of riverine habitat and fishes to climate change in the Great Lakes Region
Climate change is expected to alter the distributions and community composition of stream fishes in the Great Lakes region in the 21st century, in part as a result of altered hydrological systems (stream temperature, streamflow, and habitat). Resource managers need information and tools to understand where fish species and stream habitats are expected to change under future conditions. Fish sampleClimate change effects on North American inland fish populations and assemblages
Climate is a critical driver of many fish populations, assemblages, and aquatic communities. However, direct observational studies of climate change impacts on North American inland fishes are rare. In this synthesis, we (1) summarize climate trends that may influence North American inland fish populations and assemblages, (2) compile 31 peer-reviewed studies of documented climate change effects oClimate variables explain neutral and adaptive variation within salmonid metapopulations: The importance of replication in landscape genetics
Understanding how environmental variation influences population genetic structure is important for conservation management because it can reveal how human stressors influence population connectivity, genetic diversity and persistence. We used riverscape genetics modelling to assess whether climatic and habitat variables were related to neutral and adaptive patterns of genetic differentiation (popuGenetic diversity is related to climatic variation and vulnerability in threatened bull trout
Understanding how climatic variation influences ecological and evolutionary processes is crucial for informed conservation decision-making. Nevertheless, few studies have measured how climatic variation influences genetic diversity within populations or how genetic diversity is distributed across space relative to future climatic stress. Here, we tested whether patterns of genetic diversity (allelBull trout in the Boundary System: managing connectivity and the feasibility of a reintroduction in the lower Pend Oreille River, northeastern Washington
Many of the World’s rivers are influenced by large dams (>15 m high) most of which have fragmented formerly continuous habitats, and significantly altered fish passage, natural flow, temperature, and sediment fluxes (Nilsson and others, 2005; Arthington, 2012; Liermann and others, 2012). In the Pacific Northwest, dams on major rivers have been a major focus for fishery managers, primarily in regarCombining demographic and genetic factors to assess population vulnerability in stream species
Accelerating climate change and other cumulative stressors create an urgent need to understand the influence of environmental variation and landscape features on the connectivity and vulnerability of freshwater species. Here, we introduce a novel modeling framework for aquatic systems that integrates spatially explicit, individual‐based, demographic and genetic (demogenetic) assessments with envirInvasive hybridization in a threatened species is accelerated by climate change
Climate change will decrease worldwide biodiversity through a number of potential pathways1, including invasive hybridization2 (cross-breeding between invasive and native species). How climate warming influences the spread of hybridization and loss of native genomes poses difficult ecological and evolutionary questions with little empirical information to guide conservation management decisions3.