Refuges and ecological traps: Extreme drought threatens persistence of an endangered fish in intermittent streams.

ABSTRACT: Recent droughts raise global concern over potential biodiversity loss and mitigating impacts to vulnerable species has become a management priority. However, drought impacts on populations are difficult to predict, in part, because habitat refuges can buffer organisms from harsh environmental conditions. In a global change context, more extreme droughts may turn previously suitable habitats into ecological traps, where vulnerable species can no longer persist. Here, we explore the impacts of California's recent record-breaking drought on endangered juvenile Coho salmon. We estimated the variability of cumulative salmon survival using mark-recapture of nearly 20,000 tagged fish in intermittent stream pools during a 7-year period encompassing drought and non-drought conditions. We then deter

SUBMITTER: Vander Vorste R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7384119 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature