Fish die-offs in Wisconsin lakes are expected to double by mid-century and quadruple by 2100 due to warmer summer temperatures, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Fish die-offs in Wisconsin lakes are expected to double by mid-century and quadruple by 2100 due to warmer summer temperatures, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Climate Change.
To better understand how fish die-offs are changing, researchers from Reed College and the University of California, Davis, analyzed a database of freshwater fish die-offs in Wisconsin combined with lake temperature data and simulations. They found that more than 100 of 500 fish die-offs recorded between 2004 and 2014 in the state were strongly linked with heat waves and warmer average surface water temperatures.
“This research takes a substantial step forward in connecting the dots between the occurrence of rare ecological catastrophes and climate warming,” said lead author Samuel Fey, a mass mortality specialist and assistant professor at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. “Historically, the causes of animal die-offs have been difficult to study because these events tend to be rare and unpredictable.”
Summertime die-off events occurred in lakes that were warmer than lakes without die-offs, and during years of particularly high water temperatures.
Read more at: University of California - Davis
Fish die-offs in Wisconsin lakes are expected to double by mid-century according to research from Reed College and UC Davis. (Photo Credit: Andrew Rypel/UC Davis)
