Warming slowly enlarges young perch
After 24 years of lake warming, 1- and 3-year-old perch were about 35% larger than in a reference area.
Source
Experimental evidence of gradual size-dependent shifts in body size and growth of fish in response to warming
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Warming slowly enlarges young perch
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About 13,000 individual growth trajectories were analyzed.
13,000 individual back‐calculated body growth trajectories
What was warmed?
Biotest Lake
What they did
Used a before-after control-impact (BACIPS) design on Biotest Lake, heated by power-plant cooling water, reconstructing ~13,000 perch growth histories over 35 years.
What they found
Warming gradually increased size-at-age; young, small perch showed the strongest growth response; community composition shifts did not explain the size trend.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Does not test fishing mortality or food-web experiments that might also change size-at-age.
Key terms
- BACIPS
- Before-after control-impact paired series design.
- Size-at-age
- Body length of fish of a given age.
- TSR
- Temperature-size rule: warmer conditions often yield smaller adults.
- Biotest Lake
- Enclosed Baltic basin heated by cooling water.
- Eurasian perch
- Perca fluviatilis, the study fish.
- Size-specific growth
- Growth rate at a given body size.
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After 24 years, young perch were about:
Common questions
Warming duration?
24 years.
Size difference?
About 35% larger.
Species?
Eurasian perch.
Growth histories?
Close to 13,000 individuals.
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