Fish Flounder as Climate Warms

As the climate warms, fish diseases can become more severe and important
survival traits such as stamina can be affected. Scientists recently studied
disease progression in rainbow trout infected and not infected with
Ichthyophonus by placing them in 50, 59 and 68 degree Fahrenheit water.
Infected fish experienced more severe disease and a faster death rate at
higher temperatures. Ichthyophonus is a fungal-like microorganism that has
caused disease in several species of marine fish. The disease has been found
in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and in adult salmon returning to the
Yukon River in Alaska where summer temperatures have begun to reach 68
degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists also found that the stamina is significantly
impaired for infected fish as temperature increases. For more information,
visit http://wfrc.usgs.gov or contact Jim Winton at jim_win...@usgs.gov or
(206) 526-6587.

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

News Release

For release: April 3, 2009

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