Native fish in Tuolumne County, California surviving despite reduced habitat
10/17/2014 11:15:56 AM
CATEGORIES:
Plants & Wildlife
Water Supply & Quality
AFFECTED AREAS:
Tuolumne County, CA
Start Date: 8/15/2014
-
More than 200 Red Hills roach, a fish native only to the creeks and pools west of Sonora, were found to be thriving in Horton’s Creek, although a UC Davis fish biologist expected the fish to have gone extinct, due to the drought. The Six Bit Gulch creek, which used to be the fishes’ habitat, has gone dry.
A post-doctoral researcher at UC Davis explained that after three years of drought, many fish populations and community structures were going down, and diversity in streams was declining, which does not bode well for native fishes.
An inventory of 15 streams and pools in the Red Hills area found that half were entirely dry, while the other half were nearly dry.
Sacramento Bee (Calif.), Aug. 15, 2014
Sources
