June 2, 2017 — Scientists are gathering temperature data to determine what warming waters mean for salmon.
There’s still a lot scientists don’t know and it’s become a hot topic.
One of the first studies in Alaska was published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences this month, as part of a larger effort to design a statewide database on all things salmon.
The five-year study collected stream and temperature readings in 48 non-glacial streams every 15 minutes to capture high and low temperatures every hour.
Cook Inlet Keeper science director Sue Mauger led the effort and has been working for over a decade monitoring temperatures in salmon streams on the Kenai Peninsula.
Her results provide a baseline for salmon habitat in the Cook Inlet Basin.
“This kind of information that’s on a large regional scale but is site specific gives us that real important tool to decide where should we do one type of protection or conservation activity versus another kind of development project,” she said.
Mauger studied multiple streams in a single watershed, streams fed by wetlands, lakes and at high and low elevations.
All of these factors play into how susceptible each stream is to climate change, which she said is a concern.