Climate Change and Fish Populations

Lead by Marc Nelitz, ESSA began to examine the sensitivity of water temperature and stream flows to climate change with a series of related projects in BC. These included GIS-based analyses to model changes in summer stream temperatures and flow based on broad landscape features and global/provincial climate models, identifying the anticipated impacts of these changes to critical habitats for pacific salmon and bull trout, and the development of adaptation strategies that might allow salmon species to better survive the impact of climate-mediated change on freshwater habitats.