Supersized goldfish—some of which have grown up to three pounds—could thrive in the conditions expected with climate change.
Just west of Toronto last summer, startled biologists counted more than 20,000 goldfish in a single urban stormwater pond the size of two basketball courts. And the fish, probably descended from dumped pets, were not only thriving numerically—some had grown into three-pound behemoths. Cities around North America have increasingly been building such ponds in the past 40 years to capture rain and runoff, and invasive goldfish are flourishing in thousands of them.
Goldfish originated in East Asia. They probably first made their way via ships’ ballast water to North American rivers and the Great Lakes, where Mandrak estimates that small, localized populations have survived for 150 years. They are a detrimental presence in any new habitat they enter, says Anthony Ricciardi, a professor of ecology and invasive species at McGill University, who has worked with Mandrak in the past but was not involved in the new research.
Scientists worry this latter ability will give goldfish a competitive advantage over native species as global warming causes oxygen levels in lakes and rivers to decrease, says DFO fish production biologist Christine Boston. If that happens, and if urban pond fish get into natural wetlands, they could wreak even more havoc than the existing nonpond populations of goldfish.
The project also aims to characterize stormwater pond environments. These ponds are usually less than six feet deep and tend to be relatively warm. They are often very salty because of runoff from winter road salt, and they frequently contain extra nutrients from fertilizer. The warm temperatures and elevated nutrient levels lead to low oxygen levels in the water, Boston says. She is also developing environmental DNA sampling methods to test for goldfish genetic material in small water samples.
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