December 13, 2024

A new study published by researchers affiliated with several Midwest Climate Adaptation Center projects investigates the impact of warming lakes on fish species. The research team, led by Luoliang Xu, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, evaluated modeled temperature profiles for more than 12,000 lakes across the Midwest region and preferred thermal habitats for 60 different freshwater fish species. 

The team found that the number of days cold-water species had to enjoy their optimal conditions were fading much faster than optimal warm-water days were growing. This finding complicates the idea that fisheries managers could simply shift focus from cold-water species to warm-water species as the climate changes. They explain: 

This asymmetric impact cannot be attributed to differences in geographic distribution among species; instead, it is linked to the seasonal dynamics of lake temperatures and increased thermal homogenization of the water column. The potential advantages of an increase in warmer-water species may not fully compensate for the losses in cooler-water species as warming continues, emphasizing the importance of mitigating climate change to support effective freshwater fisheries management.

Read more in Nature Communications.

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