Low snowpack reduces thermal response diversity among streams across a landscape

Cline, Timothy J.; Schindler, Daniel E.; Walsworth, Timothy E.; French, D. W.; Lisi, Peter J.

doi:10.1002/lol2.10148

Cited by 22 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…In addition, median discharge at the regional index gage on the Little Susitna River was positively correlated with winter snow accumulation, which can have significant effects on the sensitivity of stream temperatures to air temperature. Cline, Schindler, Walsworth, French, and Lisi (2020) found that, during low snow years, streams draining high‐elevation watersheds were more responsive to variation in air temperature and that summer water temperatures were 4°C warmer than during high snow years. Given the positive relationship between snowpack and median discharge, years with high median discharge may have had colder stream temperatures than predicted by our hindcasting models, leading to a reduction in juvenile salmon growth and productivity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the positive relationship between snowpack and median discharge, years with high median discharge may have had colder stream temperatures than predicted by our hindcasting models, leading to a reduction in juvenile salmon growth and productivity. The relative influence of snowmelt on summer stream temperatures will vary across watersheds depending upon catchment geomorphology and summer climate (air temperature and cumulative precipitation; Cline et al, 2020). These results suggest populations may respond differently to changing snowpack conditions, mediated in part by varying stream temperatures and their associated effects on productivity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Watershed‐scale climate influences productivity of Chinook salmon populations across southcentral Alaska

Jones

Schoen

Shaftel

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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The ecosystems supporting Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are changing rapidly as a result of climate change and habitat alteration. Understanding how-and how consistently-salmon populations respond to changes at regional and watershed scales has major implications for fisheries management and habitat conservation. Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) populations across Alaska have declined over the past decade, resulting in fisheries closures and prolonged impacts to local communities. These declines are associated with large-scale climate drivers, but uncertainty remains about the role of local conditions (e.g., precipitation, streamflow, and stream temperature) that vary among the watersheds where salmon spawn and rear. We estimated the effects of these and other environmental indicators on the productivity of 15 Chinook salmon populations in the Cook Inlet basin, southcentral Alaska, using a hierarchical Bayesian stock-recruitment model. Salmon spawning during 2003-2007 produced 57% fewer recruits than the previous long-term average, leading to declines in adult returns beginning in 2008. These declines were explained in part by density dependence, with reduced population productivity following years of high spawning abundance. Across all populations, productivity declined with increased precipitation during the fall spawning and early incubation period and increased with above-average precipitation during juvenile rearing. Above-average stream temperatures during spawning and rearing had variable effects, with negative relationships in many warmer streams and positive relationships in some colder streams. Productivity was also associated with regional indices of streamflow and ocean conditions, with high variability among populations. The cumulative effects of adverse conditions in freshwater, including high spawning abundance, heavy fall rains, and hot, dry summers may have contributed to the recent population declines across the region. Identifying both coherent and differential responses to environmental change underscores the importance of targeted, watershed-specific monitoring and conservation efforts for maintaining resilient salmon runs in a warming world.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Watershed‐scale climate influences productivity of Chinook salmon populations across southcentral Alaska

Jones

Schoen

Shaftel

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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“…These changes will predominantly alter the sensitivity of high elevation rivers through changes in water snowmelt contribution. Cline, Schindler, Walsworth, French, and Lisi (2020) observed a larger increase in TS value of steep watersheds streams during low snow years than TS changes of streams draining flat watersheds. This suggests that highland streams become more responsive to variation in regional air temperature as snowpack contribution decreases.…”

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confidence: 71%

“…This suggests that highland streams become more responsive to variation in regional air temperature as snowpack contribution decreases. Therefore, these watersheds should also be investigated considering that thermal refuges at their confluence with warmer river channels may be at risk (Cline et al, 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We hypothesize that differences in precipitation, wetter or dryer than normal climate conditions, can induce differences in river discharge and in TS value and may produce different spatial patterns of TS. In cold-winter regions, considering that snowfall and snow cover depth are also important, the spring period and its snowmelt processes will largely determine the surface runoff of the following weeks and may affect the base flow of the following summer months through groundwater recharge (Cline et al, 2020;Lisi, Schindler, Cline, Scheuerell, & Walsh, 2015). Hence, spatial and interannual variability in climate conditions may hinder comparative studies of TS.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Defining river thermal sensitivity as a function of climate

Boyer

St‐Hilaire

Bergeron

2021

River Research & Apps

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Water temperature is increasingly acknowledged as a key variable for the sustainable management of lotic environments. Thermal variability in rivers dictates in large part the ecosystem functions of these water bodies. River thermal sensitivity (TS), defined in this work as the value of the regression slope between water and air temperature (Tair) measurements, is often used to determine how river temperature regime is expected to vary as climate evolves. This study proposes a method to contextualize climate conditions during the river temperature-monitoring period in order to define a common basis to compare TS values calculated for different stations distributed across various climatic regions in the province of Québec (Canada). Nine climate classes were defined based on Tair and precipitation. Annual climate conditions were classified according to their anomalies compared to a reference period .For the reference climate class ("Normal-Normal" conditions), results indicate contrasted summer TS values between Québec rivers and within rivers. Furthermore, observed summer TS variations between climate classes underline the need to account for climate conditions when studying spatial variations in river thermal sensitivity. Climate contextualization also allows us to study the potential role of previous conditions. Rivers were grouped according to their drainage basins characteristics to examine spatial variability in TS for the chosen reference climate conditions. River slope, station elevation and geographic location partly explained TS spatial variability.Useful proxies are needed to describe the relative contribution of groundwater to river temperature and to potentially improve the group classification results.climate, river, river thermal sensitivity, temperature | INTRODUCTIONClimate change induces shifts in the thermal regime of rivers worldwide (Wanders, Vliet, Wada, Bierkens, & Beek, 2019) and these changes will likely increase water temperature mean, maximum and variance in many rivers around the world (van Vliet et al., 2013). This will alter the thermal habitat of many lotic aquatic organisms. For instance, Daufresne and Boët (2007) conducted a meta-analysis of fish communities in large French rivers and concluded that warmer river water temperatures in recent decades induced a significant increase in the proportion of warm water species and species richness. Heino, Virkkala, and Toivonen (2009) described spatial shifts in the spatial range of numerous aquatic species with cold-water species being more affected than warm-water species. Markovic et al. (2014) analyzed the biodiversity of freshwater organisms in Europe under different climate change scenarios and envisaged that as much as 77% of rare species could lose over 90% of their current spatial range. Even though, these scenarios vary from one river system to another. Given that the largest air temperature increases have occurred and will continue to occur at mid to high latitudes (IPCC, 2002), northern rivers are being exposed to larger increase...

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Spatially variable effects of streamflow on water temperature and thermal sensitivity within a salmon‐bearing watershed in interior British Columbia, Canada

Ulaski

Warkentin

Naman

et al. 2023

River Research & Apps

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Warming temperatures can have negative consequences for aquatic organisms, especially cold‐adapted fishes such as Pacific salmon. The magnitude of warming is related to the thermal sensitivity of streams in salmon‐bearing watersheds (i.e., change in stream temperature for every 1°C increase in air temperature), which can vary based on several factors including streamflow. Management actions to increase streamflow may therefore benefit salmon by decreasing thermal sensitivity. However, the effects of streamflow on thermal sensitivity are often complex, as the temperature of flow inputs can directly increase or decrease temperatures. This study aimed to disentangle the influence of streamflow on thermal sensitivity and stream temperature over 4 years in the Nicola River, a regulated semiarid watershed in south‐central British Columbia, Canada. A statistical modeling approach was used to estimate streamflow effects on stream temperatures and thermal sensitivity (i.e., relationship of regional air temperature to stream temperature) at 12 sites from 2018 to 2021. Streamflow had a variable influence on stream temperatures across the watershed via both direct effects and by modulating thermal sensitivity. At a given site, streamflow was generally negatively associated with summer daily mean stream temperature, but the magnitude of its influence varied among locations and years. The influence of streamflow on thermal sensitivity was also highly variable both spatially and temporally. The analysis suggests that there may be complex relationships between streamflow, stream temperature, and thermal sensitivity, which complicates the efficacy of flow as a lever to mitigate high temperatures in regulated systems.

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Low snowpack reduces thermal response diversity among streams across a landscape

Cited by 22 publications

References 33 publications

Watershed‐scale climate influences productivity of Chinook salmon populations across southcentral Alaska

Watershed‐scale climate influences productivity of Chinook salmon populations across southcentral Alaska

Defining river thermal sensitivity as a function of climate

Spatially variable effects of streamflow on water temperature and thermal sensitivity within a salmon‐bearing watershed in interior British Columbia, Canada

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