Global Warming Changes In Salmon

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Introduction

Salmon are a very important fish species that contribute to the economy and play a very critical part in the food chain as they are the primary source of food for many animals and a food source for humans. Their annual migration is a miracle of nature that provides an insight into the yearly population and the abundance of their species (OLWQS 2014). However, the salmon population has decreased in the past few decades due to the effects of global warming causing changes within the habitats they live in. Theses effects lead to issues such as suboptimal diets having caused a decrease in salmon health leading to death. Predators that turn towards a higher salmon diet to fulfill their needs as other prey are becoming less abundant.
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Most salmon lay their eggs in estuaries providing provide an important transition zone from a freshwater habitat to life in saltwater. (National Ocean And Atmospheric 2012). These areas are critical for salmon as it allows juvenile salmon to feed have a refuge area from predators allowing for a higher percentage of juvenile salmon making it to adulthood. As global warming causes ocean levels to rise the water sometimes floods into these low-lying estuaries altering the ecosystem in a way that cannot be reversed. (National Wildlife Federation 2009) With these important transition zones being permanently altered the juvenile salmon ability to obtain the proper nutrition and thus increasing the probability of the salmon making it to adulthood. All these factors contribute to the diminishing number of same ( more of a …show more content…
They suspect that overfishing is the underlying issue of salmon stock decrease. Information regarding certain salmon species has uncovered that near extinctions of some salmon species are due to large commercial fishing vessels. In a 2012 study by DUJS, the giant Mekong Salmon Karp has seen a more than ninety percent decline its population due to overfishing DUJS (2012). This is very compelling research into this specific salmon population. However, global warming producing higher ocean acidification has inadvertently caused a greater decrease in the salmon population that overfishing. As higher levels of carbon dioxide are being produced ocean water are becoming more acidic, dissolving many of the shells of mollusks essentially killing them (National Wildlife Federation 2009). These mollusks are a primary food source for most juvenile salmon and without them they do not get the proper nutrients they need to survive and life to maturity. This causes the young salmon to prematurely die and not provide the future generation with enough mature salmon to sustain the future generations.

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