Episode #50 Ph.D. Michael Shin - California Golden Trout, Climate Change and the Climate Crisis

Michael Shin is a professor in the UCLA Department of Geography, faculty affiliate in the Department of Statistics, and faculty research affiliate at both the California Center for Population Research (CCPR), and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Michael is also faculty director of the UCLA Geospatial initiative, the mission of which is to meet the growing demand for geospatial analysis across campus and beyond. As an expert in geospatial methods and techniques, this project draws from his love for the outdoors, fly fishing for trout, and concern about the climate crisis and its broader impacts.Michael received a B.A. (1992) in International Affairs (minor in Italian), and a M.A. (1995), and Ph.D. (1998), in Geography, from the University of Colorado at Boulder.It is no surprise that the golden trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita) is the official state fish of California. Despite its beauty, the future of the California golden trout is in question. Livestock grazing degrades the fragile native habitat of the state fish, while alien and invasive species like rainbow and brown trout hybridize with, and prey upon, the golden trout. Whether or not, and for how long, the golden trout can withstand the effects of other environmental stressors – climate change and climate crisis – remains to be seen, and is the focus of this project.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices