November 29, 11AM ET: SE CASC Science Seminar – Climate Change Impacts on Brook Trout Populations in the Southeastern USA

Join us for virtual science seminars highlighting SE CASC funded projects supporting resource management actions across the Southeast. Each month a SE CASC researcher will provide an overview of their work and the management implications of their research findings.

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Climate Change Impacts on Brook Trout Populations in the Southeastern USA
Dr. Yoichiro Kanno (Colorado State University)
November 29, 2023 | 11AM ET
View recording here.

Overview:
Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is the only native salmonid in the southeastern USA and is an iconic species that supports recreational fishing and cultural heritage. However, human activities, such as habitat degradation and introduction of non-native species, have led to extensive declines of brook trout populations in the region, and their remaining populations occur in small, isolated headwater habitats in the southern Appalachian Mountains region. Climate change is projected to affect this coldwater species further. Although threats to brook trout remain, our research shows that their populations are not equally vulnerable to climate change because warming rates and resiliency to floods and droughts differ spatially.

In this seminar, Dr. Kanno will present analysis and synthesis of brook trout population data from Georgia to Maryland and discuss why climate variation affects local trout populations differently and identify key environmental factors that make trout populations more resilient to climate change. This research informs landscape prioritization of habitat protection and restoration and highlights the importance of identifying climate refugia for sustaining brook trout and other cold-adapted species in the southeastern USA.

About the speaker:
Dr. Yoichiro Kanno is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University. His research focuses on stream fish population and community ecology, global change biology, quantitative ecology and conservation genetics, and he teaches courses in fish conservation ecology and river sustainability. He grew up in Tokyo, Japan, where he received a B.A. in law from Meiji University. Yoichiro also has a Master of Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University, Canada, and a Ph.D. from University of Connecticut.