Eighty two percent of native freshwater fish species in California, including salmon, are likely to become extinct on present trends within the next century due to climate change, reports a study lead by Professor Peter Moyle from University of California Davis.
The study - Climate Change Vulnerability of Native and Alien Freshwater Fishes of California: A Systematic Assessment Approach - found that, of 121 native fish species, 82 percent are likely to be driven to extinction or very low numbers as climate change speeds the decline of already depleted populations. In contrast, the study reported that 19 percent of the 50 non-native fish species in the state face a similar risk of extinction. Many non-native fish are likely to thrive in changed aquatic conditions, mostly at the expense of native species.
"If present trends continue, much of the unique California fish fauna will disappear and be replaced by alien fishes, such as carp, largemouth bass, fathead minnows and green sunfish," said Peter Moyle, a professor of fish biology at UC Davis who has been documenting the biology and status of California fish for the past 40 years.
"Disappearing fish will include not only obscure species of minnows, suckers and pupfishes, but also coho salmon, most runs of steelhead trout and Chinook salmon, and Sacramento perch," Moyle said.
