Some already threatened cold-water fish species in the Northwest will not only face shrinking habitat from climate change but will face growing pressure from invasive fish species fleeing their own warming and dwindling waters, according to modeling from researchers at Oregon State University.
The findings were part of a study published in the journal Global Change Biology by fisheries professor Guillermo Giannico, associate fisheries professor Ivan Arismendi and graduate student Arif Jan. The three found that climate change is likely to compel all kinds of species migration that could lead to increased predation, competition and some localized extinctions of once native species in the Northwest and globally.
Giannico said their models can be run on most species in the world. But for their recent study, the three zeroed in on the northern migration of non-native smallmouth bass and northern pike into threatened and endangered native redband and bull trout habitat in the Northwest. All four of the species are likely to lose habitat as climate change accelerates and are likely to seek homes in colder water at higher elevations…