Project

Climate change-driven shifts in distribution and abundance are documented in many species. However, in order to better predict species responses, managers are seeking to understand the mechanisms that are driving these changes, including any thresholds that might soon be crossed. We leveraged the research that has already been supported by the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (NE CASC) and its partners and used the latest modeling techniques combined with robust field data to examine the impact of specific climate variables, land use change, and species interactions on the future distribution and abundance of species of conservation concern. Moreover, we documented biological thresholds related to climate variability and change for critical species in the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S. Our objectives were to identify the primary drivers (e.g

Project

Scenario planning is one decision support method that can help managers incorporate information about future changes in climate and other drivers into their management decisions. The development of future scenarios (of climate change, socioeconomic conditions, land use changes, and ecological responses) can help state and federal managers understand plausible ecological futures, vulnerabilities, and opportunities as a result of climate change and related stressors. While scenario planning is increasingly being proposed as a useful method for addressing climate change uncertainties in land and wildlife management, there is a need for additional models that show proof of concept of how management plans and decisions can be informed by scenario planning. We therefore propose to conduct a pilot scenario-planning project aimed at informing land and wildlife management, with a specific focus on moose in the north woods of the United States

Subscribe to USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center