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Project ID: 09-1-02-8

Year: 2009

Date Started: 06/01/2009

Ending Date:  09/30/2013

Title: Fire and Fish Dynamics in a Changing Climate: Broad- and Local-Scale Effects of Fire-Induced Water Temperature Changes on Native and Nonnative Fish Communities

Project Proposal Abstract: Fire is a key natural disturbance that affects the distribution and abundance of native fishes in the Rocky Mountain West.In the absence of migratory individuals from undisturbed portions of a watershed, persistence of native fish populations depends on the conditions of the post-fire stream environment.Stream temperatures typically warm after fire, and remain elevated until riparian vegetation recovers. An additional threat to native species is that nonnative fishes have invaded many waters, and these species tolerate or prefer warmer water temperatures. Thus, forecasting the long-term effects of fire on native fish populations requires an understanding of fire dynamics (size, distribution, frequency, and severity), the extent and location of changes in riparian forest structure and time to recovery, changes in stream temperatures associated with these forest changes, and how native and nonnative fish respond to changes in water temperature. By revisiting a large number of previously sampled sitesmany exposed to fire since 2000in the Bitterroot River basin in Montana, we propose to test whether bull trout persistence and other native and nonnative fish distributions are related to temperature changes associated with fire and recent climatic trends. Field-derived relationships will then be used to link the fire-forest succession model Fire-BGCv2 with a stream temperature model to predict changes in bull trout persistence and other native and nonnative fishes. Our spatially explicit simulation modeling will evaluate the quantitative relationships among fire disturbance, stream temperature, and fish communities over long periods and varying spatial scales. Analyses of model output will allow us to examine temporal and spatial changes in water temperature and fish distributions and note what types of fire and landscape characteristics produce these patterns at different scales. This will provide the ability to predict potential thresholds in fire risk and the scales at which to expect recovery in stream temperatures (and fish communities) both temporally and spatially under various fire and climate regimes across the landscape.Given that climate change appears to be affecting both fire patterns and air temperature, tools that assist managers in predicting changes in the distribution of fire and the influence of fire management on native fishes are a critical need.

Principal Investigator: Michael K. Young

Agency/Organization: Forest Service

Branch or Dept: RMRS-Forestry Sciences Lab-Missoula

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Co-Principal Investigator	Lisa A. Eby	University of Montana	Wildlife Biology Program
Co-Principal Investigator	Lisa M. Holsinger	Forest Service	RMRS-Fire Sciences Lab-Missoula
Co-Principal Investigator	Dan J. Isaak	Forest Service	RMRS-Aquatic Sciences Lab
Co-Principal Investigator	Robert E. Keane	Forest Service	RMRS-Fire, Fuel & Smoke Science Program
Federal Cooperator	Michael K. Young	Forest Service	RMRS-Forestry Sciences Lab-Missoula
Federal Fiscal Representative	Susan T. Major	Forest Service	RMRS-Rocky Mountain Research Station

Project Locations

Consortium

Level	State	Agency	Unit
STATE	MT	FS	Bitterroot National Forest

Project Deliverables

There is no final report available for this project.
There are no deliverables available for this project.

Supporting Documents

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