Consequence of climate change

Lake Constance fish suffer from warming waters

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15.06.2024 16:25

The current low water temperatures cannot hide the fact that Lake Constance is getting warmer and warmer. With drastic consequences for the plants and animals living in the lake.

The Langenargen Lake Research Institute has been measuring the water temperature of Lake Constance since 1962. An analysis of the figures reveals a clear finding: as a direct result of climate change, the water is getting warmer and warmer. Last year, the average value was 13.6 degrees, and a historic high of 14.1 degrees was reached in 2022. For comparison: in the first decades since measurements began, the average temperature was usually between ten and twelve degrees.

The consequences are serious: as the temperature rises, the exchange of deep water with surface water becomes less dynamic. This also reduces the transport of oxygen from the surface layer to the depths, which in turn has negative consequences for the organisms living there. Conversely, nutrients from the depths no longer reach the surface, which means that many fish lose their food source.

Whitefish are also suffering massively from the rising water temperatures in Lake Constance. (Bild: stock.adobe.com)
Whitefish are also suffering massively from the rising water temperatures in Lake Constance.

The effects of warming on fish stocks and aquatic plants are currently being studied in detail as part of the "Lake Change Climate" project, which runs until 2026. The initial results are sobering: one of the losers of lake warming is the burbot. This species requires water temperatures of less than five degrees in the deep waters - in 2023, the annual average in this zone was 5.4 degrees, meaning that stocks are collapsing.

Whitefish are also among the losers of climate change: Their eggs and larvae exhibit increased mortality when the water is too warm. The adult fish also suffer: They normally feed on water fleas on the lake surface in summer - if the water is too warm, they no longer swim into their hunting grounds.

This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.

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