Assessing the Vulnerability of Species and Ecosystems to Projected Climate Change in the Pacific NW

Project ID: G10AC00520

Federal Agency: U.S. Geological Survey

Partner Institution: University of Washington

Fiscal Year: 2010

Initial Funding: $61,256

Total Funding: $197,459

Project Type: Research

Project Disciplines: Biological

Principal Investigator: Lawler, Joshua

Abstract: To develop effective adaptive management plans, conservation and natural resource managers need to know how climate change will affect the organisms and ecosystems they manage. To meet this need, we will model potential shifts in the distributions of at least 12 focal animal species (chosen in discussions with land managers) and assess the vulnerabilities of species and managed lands to future climate change. We will summarize the projected changes in climate and biota for the entire study region as well as for specific land management units including: national parks, fish and wildlife refuges (both state and federal), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) owned and managed sites. This research contributes to USGS Science Strategy science directions, “Understanding Ecosystems and Predicting Ecosystem Change” and “Climate Variability and Change” (USGS Circular 1309) and USGS contributions to the U.S. Climate Change Science Program Strategic Plan Question 8.3 (Product 3) by enhancing our understanding of potential climate-change effects on important ecological systems.