Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
  • Environment
  •  

Young Salmon Defend Themselves Against Climate Change By Eating More — But There’s A Catch

  •  Ezra David Romero 
Monday, December 30, 2019 | Sacramento, CA
Rob Lusardi / UC Davis

These enclosures, which contain juvenile coho salmon, are part of a UC Davis experiment in the Shasta River Basin.

Rob Lusardi / UC Davis

Over the next century, scientists say about 70 percent of California’s salmon and trout could disappear. But new research indicates that even with climate change, there’s a glimmer of hope for the species.

Key to the cold-water fish’s survival will be if the water doesn't warm too much, and if their habitats stop vanishing, because baby salmon, or salmonids, usually need colder water to survive and grow.

UC Davis California scientist Robert Lusardi worked on a recent study that tested how juvenile Coho Salmon respond to warmer water conditions in the Shasta River basin. His team put 150 young salmon in 25 enclosures in the river during the warm months of the year. After 63 days, they checked on them. Lusardi says the results were surprising, considering that young salmon usually experience stress in warm water.

"We actually saw the growth peaked at much warmer water temperatures than we ever anticipated,” he said.

These fish were the same size pre-experiment. Coho on the left were reared at a mean temperature of 13 degrees celsius, and maximum weekly temperature of 16 degrees. Their mass changed, on average, 1.4 grams during the experiment.Rob Lusardi / UC Davis

 

The fish’s growth rates peaked at average water temperatures of 61.8 degrees fahrenheit, and what Lusardi calls an “unheard of” maximum weekly temperature of 70.

So, how did the cold-water fish survive the warmer temperatures? There was enough food — aquatic invertebrates like freshwater shrimp or mayflies — in the water to compensate for the rise in temperature.

"Food was really the variable that turned the tide for these fish,” Lusardi said.

The higher temperatures speed up the fish's metabolism, according to Lusardi, so they eat more and fatten-up. Warmer water often has more food sources. 

But he says there’s a caveat. “Their growth actually continued to increase positively at those temperatures, but several of the fish actually died,” Lusardi said. “So, it shows that this is only to a certain extent." 

Still he says he's unsure if those fish would've stayed where the water was warm or leave in search of cooler water as the climate crisis worsens.

“Fish can’t just eat their way out of it,” Lusardi said. 

He says the implications of the study are that fish can survive and do well if there’s sufficient food and just a slight increase in temperatures. 


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

 climate change

Ezra David Romero

Former Environment Reporter

Ezra David Romero is a former Environment Reporter at CapRadio.  Read Full Bio 

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

More Environment Stories

AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File

California, other states reach impasse over Colorado River

February 2, 2023

Kenneth James/California Department of Water Resources via AP

California snowpack levels soar after back-to-back atmospheric rivers

February 1, 2023

Yolo County Resource Conservation District

How a new law is bringing more attention to natural carbon sequestration

February 6, 2023

Most Viewed

How a new law is bringing more attention to natural carbon sequestration

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

California ends plans for kids’ Covid vaccine mandate

Still testing positive after day 10? How to decide when to end your COVID isolation

Millions of Californians are at risk of losing Medi-Cal coverage

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

How a new law is bringing more attention to natural carbon sequestration

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

California ends plans for kids’ Covid vaccine mandate

Still testing positive after day 10? How to decide when to end your COVID isolation

Millions of Californians are at risk of losing Medi-Cal coverage

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.