Physiological Basis of Climate Change Impacts on North American Inland Fishes

Whitney, James E.; Al‐Chokhachy, Robert; Bunnell, David B.; Caldwell, Colleen A.; Cooke, Steven J.; Eliason, Erika J.; Rogers, Mark W.; Lynch, Abigail J.; Paukert, Craig P.

doi:10.1080/03632415.2016.1186656

Cited by 138 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…Higher temperatures earlier in the spring will mean that fish experience physiological stress sooner and may not be able to survive until the spawning period in late fall when stress will be relieved by cooler temperatures. Additionally, because brook trout avoid warmer water and are rarely found in streams with 60 days mean temperatures above 20 °C [7,33], changes to the temporal distribution of stream temperatures will likely have an effect on the spatial distribution of trout [7,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Section: Timing Of Stream Temperaturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the next century, freshwater ecosystems in the New England region of the United States are expected to experience a continued increase in mean daily stream temperatures and an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme high flow events due to warmer, wetter winters, earlier spring snowmelt, and drier summers [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. As the spatial and temporal variability of stream temperatures play a primary role in distributions, interactions, behavior, and persistence of coldwater fish species [7,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16], it has become increasingly important to understand what challenges freshwater fisheries managers will face because of climate change. Analytical models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) [17] can be used to estimate the effects of climate change on stream temperatures and aquatic species [5,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulating Climate Change Induced Thermal Stress in Coldwater Fish Habitat Using SWAT Model

Chambers

Pradhanang

Gold

2017

Water

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Climate studies have suggested that inland stream temperatures and average streamflows will increase over the next century in New England, thereby putting aquatic species sustained by coldwater habitats at risk. This study uses the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate historical streamflow and stream temperatures within three forested, baseflow-driven watersheds in Rhode Island, USA followed by simulations of future climate scenarios for comparison. Low greenhouse gas emission scenarios are based on the 2007 International Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) B1 scenario and the high emissions are based on the SRES A1fi scenario. The output data are analyzed to identify daily occurrences where brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are exposed to stressful events, defined herein as any day where Q25 or Q75 flows occur simultaneously with stream temperatures exceeding 21 • C. Results indicate that under both high-and low-emission greenhouse gas scenarios, coldwater fish species such as brook trout will be increasingly exposed to stressful events. The percent chance of stressful event occurrence increased by an average of 6.5% under low-emission scenarios and by 14.2% under high-emission scenarios relative to the historical simulations.

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Section: Timing Of Stream Temperaturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating Climate Change Induced Thermal Stress in Coldwater Fish Habitat Using SWAT Model

Chambers

Pradhanang

Gold

2017

Water

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“…; Whitney et al. ), and the upper thermal tolerances of several segments of Apache Trout life history are well known. Adult Apache Trout can survive short increases in water temperatures up to 28–31°C (Lee and Rinne ; Recsetar et al.…”

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confidence: 99%

Using a Mechanistic Model to Develop Management Strategies to Cool Apache Trout Streams under the Threat of Climate Change

Baker

Bonar

2019

N American J Fish Manag

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User‐friendly stream temperature models populated with on‐site data may help in developing strategies to manage temperatures of individual stream reaches that are subject to climate change. We used the field‐tested Stream Segment Temperature model (U.S. Geological Survey) to simulate how altering discharge, groundwater input, channel wetted width, and shade prevents the temperatures of White Mountain, Arizona, stream reaches from exceeding the thermal tolerance of Apache Trout Oncorhynchus apache, both under existing conditions and under a climate change scenario. Simulations suggested increasing shade, either through streamside planting of specific numbers and species of plants or by other means, would be most effective and feasible for cooling the stream reaches we studied. Ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa and Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii provided the most shade followed in order by Engelman spruce Picea engelmannii, Bebb's willow Salix bebbiana, Arizona alder Alnus oblongifolia, and finally coyote willow Salix exigua. Vegetation survival depends on the appropriateness of site conditions at present and under climate change, and planting in buffer strips minimizes additional water removal from the watershed through evapotranspiration. Alternative shading options, including thick sedge growth, shade cloth, or felled woody vegetation, may be considered when environmental conditions do not support plantings. Increasing groundwater input can cool streams, but additional sources are scarce in the region. Decreasing the width‐to‐depth ratio would succeed best on reaches with widths greater than 2.0 m. Increasing discharge from upstream may lower water temperature on reaches with an initial discharge greater than 0.5 m3/s. Existing models provide suggestions to cool stream reaches. Further development of accessible software packages that incorporate evaporation, fragmentation, and other projected climate change effects into their routines will provide additional tools to help manage climate change effects.

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“…However, the life-cycle of brook trout is heavily influenced by the degree and timing of temperature changes [11,20]. High stream temperatures cause physical stress including slowed metabolism and decreased growth rate, adverse effects on critical life-cycle stages such as spawning or migration triggers, and in extreme cases, mortality [7,[21][22][23][24]. Distribution is also affected as coldwater fish actively avoid water temperatures that exceed their preferred temperature by 2-5 • C [25,26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the next century, freshwater ecosystems in New England are expected to experience continued increase in mean daily stream temperatures and an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme flow events due to warmer, wetter winters, earlier spring snowmelt, and drier summers [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. As the spatial and temporal variability of stream temperatures play a primary role in distributions, interactions, behavior, and persistence of coldwater fish species [7,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16], it has become increasingly important to understand historical patterns of change so that a comparison can be made when projecting the future effects of climate changes on local ecosystems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Thermally Stressful Events in a Rhode Island Coldwater Fish Habitat Using the SWAT Model

Chambers

Pradhanang

Gold

2017

Water

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It has become increasingly important to recognize historical water quality trends so that the future impacts of climate change may be better understood. Climate studies have suggested that inland stream temperatures and average streamflow will increase over the next century in New England, thereby putting aquatic species sustained by coldwater habitats at risk. In this study we evaluated two different approaches for modeling historical streamflow and stream temperature in a Rhode Island, USA, watershed with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), using (i) original SWAT and (ii) SWAT plus a hydroclimatological model component that considers both hydrological inputs and air temperature. Based on daily calibration results with six years of measured streamflow and four years of stream temperature data, we examined occurrences of stressful conditions for brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) using the hydroclimatological model. SWAT with the hydroclimatological component improved modestly during calibration (NSE of 0.93, R 2 of 0.95) compared to the original SWAT (NSE of 0.83, R 2 of 0.93). Between 1980-2009, the number of stressful events, a moment in time where high or low flows occur simultaneously with stream temperatures exceeding 21 • C, increased by 55% and average streamflow increased by 60%. This study supports using the hydroclimatological SWAT component and provides an example method for assessing stressful conditions in southern New England's coldwater habitats.

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Physiological Basis of Climate Change Impacts on North American Inland Fishes

Cited by 138 publications

References 112 publications

Simulating Climate Change Induced Thermal Stress in Coldwater Fish Habitat Using SWAT Model

Simulating Climate Change Induced Thermal Stress in Coldwater Fish Habitat Using SWAT Model

Using a Mechanistic Model to Develop Management Strategies to Cool Apache Trout Streams under the Threat of Climate Change

Assessing Thermally Stressful Events in a Rhode Island Coldwater Fish Habitat Using the SWAT Model

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