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1st Student's Major

Biological Sciences

1st Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Students' Professional Biography

Eric Walberg is from Becker, MN and graduated from Becker High School in 2007. He is currently attending Minnesota State University-Mankato and is majoring in biology with a focus on zoology and working towards achieving a certificate in Geographic Information Science (GIS). After receiving his B.S. in biology- zoology and a certificate in GIS, he plans to attend graduate school to pursue his M.S. degree in wildlife biology or a similar field. Eric has worked for the Minnesota DNR as an intern since 2009. After earning his M.S. he would like to continue to work for an organization such as the MN DNR in a research capacity.

Mentor's Name

Shannon Fisher

Mentor's Email Address

shannon.fisher@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

Water Resources Center

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Abstract

Global warming could cause changes in species behavior and life history. Stream fish may be significantly affected by climate change because individuals are restricted in their movements by water systems and other physical factors, preventing migration to locations more thermally suitable. The effect of warmer waters on stream fish could change behavior and affect the fish species survival and ultimately ecosystem function. During my experiment I observed the effects of increased water temperature on the feeding behavior and habitat use of two native Minnesota fish species, black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) and black bullhead (Ameiurus melas). An increase of 2oC over a period of 4 weeks resulted in a 35% decrease in the number of feeding events by black bullheads and an increase of 22.2% for black crappies. Significant changes in habitat use were also observed during the study, with bullheads increasing their use of open areas, plant cover, and swimming behavior, while decreasing their use of brick interior for cover and searching behavior. Crappies were found to increase their use of open areas and swimming behavior, while decreasing their use of the brick exterior for cover. These results provide insight about the future effects of increased water temperature on the feeding behavior, habitat use, and ecosystems of fish species.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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