Climate change is increasing hybridization between native and invasive trout in the West

A team of US Geological Survey researchers and partners investigated how native and invasive lake trout have interbred, or hybridized, across the northern Rocky Mountains over time. They integrated large genetic datasets with high resolution climate predictions and fish stocking records. They found an increased spread of hybridization that was mostly driven by historical fish stocking, warming water temperatures, increased road densities and decreased spring precipitation. Hybridization between invasive and native species can threaten biodiversity, and these results suggest that human activities can greatly impact biodiversity. Thus, researchers recommend that analysis on how climate change may affect biodiversity in the future must be considered in context of past and present human impacts.