Final Report: Predicting Climate-Induced Expansions of Invasive Fish in the Pacific Northwest: Implications for Climate Adaptation of Native Salmon and Trout
Dates
Publication Date
2021-05-10
Citation
Donovan A. Bell, Ryan P Kovach, Clint C Muhlfeld, Robert K Al-Chokhachy, Timothy J Cline, Diane C. Whited, David A Schmetterling, Paul M. Lukacs, and Andrew R. Whiteley, 2021-05-10, Final Report: Predicting Climate-Induced Expansions of Invasive Fish in the Pacific Northwest: Implications for Climate Adaptation of Native Salmon and Trout: .
Summary
Climate change and invasive species are major threats to native biodiversity, but few studies have examined their combined effects at large spatial and temporal scales. Using 21,917 surveys collected over 30 years, we quantified the impacts of climate change on the past and future distributions of five interacting native and invasive trout species throughout the northern Rocky Mountains, USA. We found that the occupancy of native bull trout and cutthroat trout declined by 18% and 6%, respectively, from 1993 to 2018 and was predicted to decrease by an additional 39% and 16% by 2080. However, reasons for the occupancy reductions differed markedly across species; increasing water temperature and decreasing streamflow drove declines of [...]
Summary
Climate change and invasive species are major threats to native biodiversity, but few studies have examined their combined effects at large spatial and temporal scales. Using 21,917 surveys collected over 30 years, we quantified the impacts of climate change on the past and future distributions of five interacting native and invasive trout species throughout the northern Rocky Mountains, USA. We found that the occupancy of native bull trout and cutthroat trout declined by 18% and 6%, respectively, from 1993 to 2018 and was predicted to decrease by an additional 39% and 16% by 2080. However, reasons for the occupancy reductions differed markedly across species; increasing water temperature and decreasing streamflow drove declines of bull trout, while climate-induced interactions with invasive species largely drove declines of cutthroat trout. Our results demonstrate that climate change can impact ecologically similar, co-occurring native species through distinct pathways, necessitating progressive species-specific management actions.
