SOS fish in danger. Often very sensitive to temperature variations, these animals are particularly threatened by global warming. Hence the importance, throughout France, of monitoring changes in temperature in rivers. It is in this context that the Maine-et-Loire fishing federation launched a thermal monitoring program in the Èvre basin, reports West France.
This basin located in the Mauges was chosen by the federation for two reasons: the water there is less polluted than elsewhere and it heats up less quickly, since its waterways flow all year round. Clearly, this study will make it possible to identify the species which actually have a chance of remaining in the department in the coming decades. And which can therefore calmly be part of the population, repopulation and water management policies by the SMiB Evre-Thau-St Denis-Robinets-Haie d'Alot union, details The Western Mail.
Understanding the effect of temperature variations
With the agreement of the SMiB, eight probes were placed in several watercourses. They are associated with solar sensors which send data daily. In this way, it will be possible for the departmental federation to associate temperature variations with changes in the behavior of fish, which need more oxygen as the water is warmer. These effects are all the more significant since the consolidation carried out in the 1960s, the rivers are shallower and therefore heat up more quickly.
This work should make it possible to clearly assess the fate of certain fish that prefer cool water, such as sculpins or minnows, when temperatures increase in summer. “Our desire is to integrate the averages of the rivers and to identify the summer threshold values in particular”underlined Camille Logie, project manager at the fishing federation. The federation hopes to obtain enough data to have a clear vision within a year.
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