Shorter Winters, Increased Rain: How could this impact local fishing?
I don’t know how much has changed regarding weather since I was younger. However, one thing I have noticed while living in southern Wisconsin my entire life is that winters seem to have been starting later and thus running later into the year. I also feel like these winters have been on the warmer side besides the year we had the polar vortex. Continuing with this trend I feel like the warmer winters have also transitioned into wetter springs and summers as well as I feel like average rainfall has increased throughout my lifetime as well as the number of big weather events.
It seems odd that such drastic changes could occur within my lifetime and in such a short amount of time, however these somewhat noticeable trends have been backed up by research. Not only in Wisconsin but across the country winter temperatures have increased as well as winter precipitation. I do not think it is a very difficult question to answer in that the source of this phenomenon is global warming and if I can notice it than I'm sure that people around are noticing the same things as well.
Although this is a separate problem on its own, I have also noticed another occurrence near my home in which the higher precipitation and shorter winter times could be a factor. In the backyard of my home is a park called Stone Ridge Park which leads back to a rather large pondish type of water body. Throughout my childhood this has always been home to a great secluded fishing spot for me with multiple types of catch including catfish, bass and various panfish while also accompanied with beautiful clear water. However, over the years I have noticed that each season algae and other aquatic plants have are continuously becoming more abundant and waters sit at higher levels consistently than when they would recede. Further I have noticed that the variety of fish has decreased with little or no bass and catfish only spawning in the late summer. Possible reasons why my beloved fishing spot is weakening are due to climate change and the increased rain accompanied by decreased winters. The shorter winters allow more time for plants to grow and reproduce and with higher temperatures they are allowed to grow faster, being a possible explanation for the increased plant life. The algal blooms the water receives could also be caused by the increased precipitation which would increase runoff and increase the blooms. Regarding the fish, a possibility is the new vegetation is outcompeting the old which allowed for the ecosystem to thrive and has now been thrown off. However, I am unsure why this would delay the appearance of catfish from prior years.
I think the most interesting thing that I will take away from this course is how interconnected everything and we all are. Every action has a reaction that will affect an infinite number of things and each step in between is important.
Hi Patrick! My hometown of Saint Paul has been seeing similar changes to the weather season. I found that the twin cities gets 20% more rain annually since 1951. Do you think if some scientists or government made the increase in temperatures in certain areas to their residents, it would make people want to do something about climate change? Before writing this blog post I had no idea that Minnesota was getting hotter than most of the US. I think if campaigns were launched to tell Minnesotans it might make a difference.
ReplyDeleteHi Patrick! I've also lived in southern Wisconsin my whole life and have also noticed the differences in the weather. In my post I talked mostly about the outlier, the polar vortex, but I've also noticed how winters have typically been getting less extreme. I think its really interesting that you've been able to see noticeable differences in your fishing pond. Do you think the reason it takes longer now for catfish to show up could be that they're growing slower? Maybe the algae is outcompeting food they need to mature quickly?
ReplyDeleteI think Gabrielle raises a good point. It could be a plethora of issues, nonetheless that stinks that you haven't found as much success fishing recently. Do you think there is anything you can do personally to help the pond with the plant growth to spark a potential growth in the fish? Also, do you think you could reach out to local legislation on the subject matter and issues?
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