Water temperature has a big impact on virtually every aspect of stream ecology. Because cold water can store more oxygen than warm water, raising a stream’s temperature may decrease that streams oxygen levels. This change in oxygen can harming some species while allowing others to thrive out of control. This includes unusual and problematic algae blooms.

Stream temperatures can be influenced by many factors including natural hot springs, the removal or addition of riparian vegetation that naturally cools a stream by offering shade, or any number of human influences including livestock, fertilizers, and hard surface runoff.

Learn more about restoring aquatic resources for resilience – in a warming climate: https://create.piktochart.com/output/26394975-coldwater-in-a-warming-climate