US: Diverse habitats help salmon weather unpredictable climate changes

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Seafood

United States

Sustainability & Environmental Impact

Innovation & Technology

Published Mar 15, 2024

Tridge summary

A study led by Flora Cordoleani from NOAA Fisheries and University of California Santa Cruz suggests that diverse salmon habitats are crucial for the fish's survival amid varying climate conditions. The research, which focused on threatened spring-run Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River's tributaries, found that high fish production sites may be vulnerable to changes like drought. Therefore, these sites should be paired with diverse ones that support the salmon population differently. The study, published in Ecosphere, also emphasized the importance of a mix of habitats, including streamside vegetation and open floodplains, and advocated for the restoration of diverse habitat areas across watersheds to stabilize salmon numbers in the long term.

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Original content

Restored salmon habitat should resemble financial portfolios, offering fish diverse options for feeding and survival so that they can weather various conditions as the climate changes, a new study shows.The researchers looked at threatened spring-run Chinook salmon in tributaries of the Sacramento River. It found that restored sites that produce lots of fish may be especially vulnerable to changes such as drought. Such sites should be coupled with other varying sites that support the salmon population in diverse ways."The fish need all the different opportunities," said Flora Cordoleani, a NOAA Fisheries and University of California Santa Cruz researcher who led the research published this week in Ecosphere. "Fish with one life history that favors certain habitat are not going to save the population in the long term. We need diverse habitats to support diverse life histories that help provide resilience."Life history refers to salmon traits such as their juvenile migration timing, ...

Source: Phys