As climate change bakes the U.S. West and dries up key Colorado River reservoirs, a slew of invasive species is flourishing in warmer waters at the expense of the artery’s native inhabitants.
Among the most disruptive of this wide range of invaders is the smallmouth bass, which scientists fear could pose a possible danger to the native ecology of the Grand Canyon region should the fish continue making their way downstream.
California’s only native sunfish, the Sacramento perch, survived catastrophic floods in the 1860s and was so abundant that it was a regular staple in San Francisco’s markets before invasive species decimated its population.
Record high Pacific Ocean temperatures recorded off the West Cost in recent years have receded to near normal, according to a report on the California Current.
That cool shift marks the end of “the blob,” the mass of warm water that dominated the West Coast, and of the El Nino event that followed. It’s unclear, however, what that means for fish and marine mammals, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated in the 2019 ecosystem status report for the California Current Ecosystem.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
