Do metapopulations and management matter for relict headwater bull trout populations in a warming climate?

Mountain headwater streams have emerged as important climate refuges for native cold‐water species due to their slow climate velocities and extreme physical conditions that inhibit non‐native invasions. Species persisting in refuges often do so as fragmented, relict populations from broader historic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological applications 2022-07, Vol.32 (5), p.e2594-n/a
Main Authors: Isaak, Daniel J., Young, Michael K., Horan, Dona L., Nagel, David, Schwartz, Michael K., McKelvey, Kevin S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological models (mathematics)
bull trout
Climate change
Climatic conditions
connectivity
Conservation
Dispersal
Environmental restoration
Extreme values
Fish populations
Habitats
Indigenous species
Invasive species
metapopulation
Metapopulations
Mountains
patch occupancy model
Populations
refugia
Resilience
Restoration strategies
Robustness (mathematics)
Salvelinus confluentus
Salvelinus fontinalis
Streams
Trout
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Summary:Mountain headwater streams have emerged as important climate refuges for native cold‐water species due to their slow climate velocities and extreme physical conditions that inhibit non‐native invasions. Species persisting in refuges often do so as fragmented, relict populations from broader historical distributions that are subject to ongoing habitat reductions and increasing isolation as climate change progresses. Key for conservation planning is determining where remaining populations will persist and how habitat restoration strategies can improve biological resilience to enhance the long‐term prospects for species of concern. Studying bull trout, a headwater species in the northwestern USA, we developed habitat occupancy models using a data set of population occurrence in 991 natal habitat patches with a suite of novel geospatial covariates derived from high‐resolution hydroclimatic scenarios and other sources representing watershed and instream habitat conditions, patch geometry, disturbance, and biological interactions. The best model correctly predicted bull trout occupancy status in 82.6% of the patches and included effects for: patch size estimated as habitat volume, extent of within‐patch reaches
ISSN:1051-0761
1939-5582
DOI:10.1002/eap.2594