Fish life histories, wildfire, and resilience - A case study of rainbow trout in the Boise River, Idaho

In this short piece we address the question of how aquatic ecosystems and species can change in response to disturbances, such as those related to the influence of wildfire on stream ecosystems. Our focal species is rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Boise River, Idaho. Rainbow trout in this system have persisted in the face of widespread and often severe wildfires occurring since the 1990s (Rieman and others 1997; Burton 2005; Dunham and others 2007).