Los Angeles Times (May 31, 2013)

Climate change could be the final blow for many of California’s native fish species, pushing them to extinction with extended drought, warmer water temperatures and altered stream flow.

The authors of a new study published online in the journal PLOS ONE used 20 metrics -- including species population trends, physiological tolerance to temperature increase and ability to disperse -- to gauge the vulnerability of native fishes to climate change.

The results: 82% of 121 native species were deemed highly vulnerable. “One of the obvious things to do is to re-operate the reservoirs and get more fish-friendly flows below” them, said Peter Moyle, a UC Davis professor of fish biology and lead author of the paper. he said.

The establishment of cool-water refuges for native fish is needed, the authors wrote, “even in urban streams such as those in the San Francisco Bay region.”