In Hot Water: Climate Change is Affecting North American Fish
Scientists reviewed 31 studies across North America that documented fish response to climate change...
Warmer Waters From Climate Change Could Impact Sport Fish Communities
Like to fish? USGS researchers looked at more than 2,100 lakes to relate water temperature to suitability for walleye and largemouth bass
Cold Mountain Streams Offer Climate Refuge
A new study offers hope for cold-water species in the face of climate change
Are bull trout vulnerable to climate change?
USGS scientist, Jason Dunham, discusses how stream temperature affects bull trout in this webinar
Taking our research to Congress
A recent Congressional briefing featured USGS climate research
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
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.