The Effects of the Drought on the Big Chico Creek and the Freshwater Fishes

Does Big Chico Creek support fish life? To answer this question we need to explore what life a creek should support and if in fact that life is supported or sustained in Big Chico Creek. A side thought worth consideration and investigation can be: how has the Drought affected this ability of the creek to support fish life? “Acidification of freshwater is widespread owing to the natural leaching of soil acids, pollution resulting in acid rain and human activities such as mining (Jellyman & Harding, 2014)”.

How humans have interacted with the water around them has a definite impact on how well the water may be suitable for other life besides our own. pH is something that can be easily monitored and determined with simple tests that only take a few seconds to go through with. Knowing the pH to the water that is in question, in this case Big Chico Creek, we can determine if the water is fit for a certain set of riverine communities.

What is the pH of Big Chico Creek and is that a constant figure? “For Freshwater fish communities, pH can be a major determinant of which species will be present because species vary widely in their tolerance of acidity (Jellyman & Harding, 2014).” Since pH tolerance is a large qualifier of which life can live in the creek, it is important to know if the creek has a constant pH and whether there are any repercussions that could come from the possible fact that the pH not be constant.

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The possibility of seasonal life in Big Chico Creek is also an interesting thought to pursue, here we are interested mostly in the possibility of their being any life in the creek. Provided life is found in fish form in the creek is the pH of the water healthy for the fish at all stages of their life cycle?

“Droughts are increasing in frequency and severity in many regions of the world due to climate change (Mosely, 2014)”. California is not a place that is escaping the wrath of climate change in any degree, most inhabitants can confirm this. “Hydrological Droughts may result in significant changes in water quality (Mosely, 2014)”. Since we can test pH and dissolved oxygen levels in the water we can use those two measurements as indicators of the water quality and then use that to know what fish life can handle this. When we know that then we can have an understanding of how the drought has affected the water and then look for solutions.