Climate Change Spells Trouble For Migratory Fish
In Europe, most migratory fish species completing their cycle between the sea and the river are currently in danger. Although restoration programmes have been set up, the future distribution of these species may be modified because of climate change.
Migratory fish are noteworthy in that they use both the sea and freshwater environments to complete their life cycle. Since the last glacial period 18,000 years ago, this allowed them to progressively colonize all parts of Europe. However, over-fishing, river development, pollution, etc. have contributed to these migratory fish populations regressing and today most of these species are endangered.
The study used a historical model of species distribution and applied it to a context of climate change, extrapolating it till the year 2100.
In short … big trouble. For most species the situation will deteriorate – in accordance with the predictions, the southern watersheds risk losing most of their species.
Our priority should therefore lie in restoring the fish environments and populations. [Via]
