Beginning in 2020, we set out to determine which fishes in our headwaters study area (see map) are the most vulnerable to stream warming caused by climate change. To figure this out, we expanded a stream temperature model to include eastern Montana (NorWeST: EMonSTeR), built a fish-occurrence dataset with over 40,000 samples, and used 2 different methods to determine individual species upper thermal tolerances. We were able to do this for 33 different species or subspecies. 

By applying future climate scenarios to sites where those 33 species have been found, we determined 13 to be highly vulnerable to stream warming. 

We are currently working to publish a paper on these findings and will update this page once that is complete.