New research has shown that climate change is also significantly impacting freshwater fish species.
The study found that pole-dwelling species are thriving due to global warming opening new areas while equatorial-dwelling species are declining as they are being stifled out of their habitat.
According to the study co-author Professor Martin Genner:
“A common biological response to climatic warming in marine and terrestrial habitats is that populations are increasing at the poleward side of species ranges, as new environments are generated, and populations are declining at the equatorward side of species ranges, as conditions become too warm. These findings indicate that projected future warming will likely lead to widespread shifts in riverine community structure, including abundance declines at the trailing edge of species distributions. Our study has shown how warming waters are impacting freshwater river fishes, that are both rich in biodiversity and are traditionally important to cultures across the world.”
