+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Study: Climate change to halve trout habitat by 2080

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Lower Wabash Valley, Indiana
    Posts
    19

    Unhappy Study: Climate change to halve trout habitat by 2080

    http://billingsgazette.com/news/stat...#ixzz1WR7ejE9x

    An excerpt:

    Researcher Seth Wenger, the paper's lead author, said cutthroat could see a 58 percent decline in suitable habitat due to warming rivers, altered streamflows and competition from nonnative species.

    The study, published in the science journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also predicts a decline in introduced brook trout populations by as much as 77 percent, while rainbow and brown trout populations could also decline by an estimated 35 percent and 48 percent, respectively.

    The decline of cutthroat trout is of particular significance, Wenger said, because it is the only trout native to much of the West, and is a keystone species in the Rocky Mountain ecosystem. The westslope cutthroat trout - a subspecies included in the study - is Montana's state fish and the focus of numerous conservation efforts.

    The 11 researchers who contributed to the study are from Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, and the University of Washington.

    Wenger said the paper was based on data collected from nearly 10,000 fish surveys conducted in the western half of Montana, as well as the western parts of Colorado and Wyoming, eastern and northern Idaho, and Utah. The data was used to build statistical models that forecast the decline in total suitable habitat.

    The range of cutthroat habitat has already shrunk by more than 85 percent due to competition from introduced species like rainbow trout and brook trout, and two subspecies have already gone extinct.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Las Cruces, NM
    Posts
    2,097

    Default

    We've got to hope that this is only a cycle, as the whole West will be burned up by 2080 if this trend continues.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Ashburn, Virginia
    Posts
    7,867

    Default

    Interesting that there wasn't any mention of the effects of whirling disease; seems that cutts were pretty susceptible.

    Regards,
    Scott

+ Reply to Thread

Similar Threads

  1. The Daily Climate On Gill Lice
    By spinner1 in forum Sound Off
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-17-2014, 12:47 PM
  2. Study Break 2/13/14
    By BigDan in forum Fishing Reports
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 02-18-2014, 02:13 AM
  3. Replies: 23
    Last Post: 10-12-2010, 10:03 PM
  4. a change
    By mudflaper in forum Fly Anglers Online
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-23-2008, 04:34 AM
  5. Catch and Release Study
    By Brad Williamson in forum Fly Anglers Online
    Replies: 32
    Last Post: 10-10-2007, 12:02 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts