Aashna Sharma
The Silent War in Himalayan Waters: Native Snow Trout vs. Invasive Brown Trout
This feature article, “In Waters of Snows, War of the Fish,” casts light on a quiet yet consequential ecological battle unfolding in India’s Himalayan rivers. Introduced during the British colonial era, the brown trout has become a formidable invader—disrupting native riverine ecosystems and pushing the endemic snow trout toward a high-risk survival strategy.
Dr. Aashna Sharma’s research reveals how snow trout populations are evolving a "live fast, die young" reproductive response: producing more eggs at the cost of adult survival. This maturity-mortality tradeoff—unprecedented in the species’ life history—is a sign of severe ecological stress. The article also critiques how damming of rivers and homogenized flow regimes exacerbate these invasions, urging governments to move beyond symbolic decolonization and into genuine ecological restoration.
At its core, the piece is a compelling call to protect native biodiversity by rethinking development priorities and rewilding Himalayan waters.