Authors

Yu-Chun Kao, Michigan State University
Mark W. Rogers, Tennessee Technological University
David B. Bunnell, Great Lakes Science Center
Ian G. Cowx, University of Hull
Song S. Qian, University of Toledo
Orlane Anneville, Université Savoie Mont Blanc-INRAE
T. Douglas Beard Jr., National Climate Adaptation Science Center
Alexander Brinker, Fisheries Research Station of Baden-Württemberg
J. Robert Britton, Bournemouth University
René Chura-Cruz, Instituto del Mar del Perú
Natasha J. Gownaris, Gettysburg CollegeFollow
James R. Jackson, Cornell University
Külli Kangur, Estonian University of Life Sciences
Jeppe Kolding, University of Bergen
Anatol A. Lukin, Ministry of Agriculture of Russia
Abigail J. Lynch, National Climate Adaptation Science Center
Norman Mercado-Silva, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos
Rodrigo Moncayo-Estrada, Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita
Friday J. Njaya, Malawi Department of Fisheries
Ilia Ostrovsky, Kinneret Limnological Laboratory
Lars G. Rudstam, Cornell University
Alfred L.E. Sandström, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Yuichi Sato, Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute
Humberto Siguayro-Mamani, Instituto del Mar del Perú
Andy Thorpe, University of Portsmouth
Paul A.M. van Zwieten, Wageningen University
Pietro Volta, CNR Water Research Institute
Yuyu Wang, Beijing Forestry University
András Weiperth, Szent István University
Olaf L.F. Weyl, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
Joelle D. Young, Ontario Ministry of the Environment

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-20-2020

Department 1

Environmental Studies

Abstract

Globally, our knowledge on lake fisheries is still limited despite their importance to food security and livelihoods. Here we show that fish catches can respond either positively or negatively to climate and land-use changes, by analyzing time-series data (1970–2014) for 31 lakes across five continents. We find that effects of a climate or land-use driver (e.g., air temperature) on lake environment could be relatively consistent in directions, but consequential changes in a lake-environmental factor (e.g., water temperature) could result in either increases or decreases in fish catch in a given lake. A subsequent correlation analysis indicates that reductions in fish catch was less likely to occur in response to potential climate and land-use changes if a lake is located in a region with greater access to clean water. This finding suggests that adequate investments for water-quality protection and water-use efficiency can provide additional benefits to lake fisheries and food security.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

DOI

10.1038/s41467-020-14624-2

Version

Version of Record

Required Publisher's Statement

This article is also available on the publisher's website.

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