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Jennifer Costanza

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Important links for Black bear, Rafinesque's big-eared bat, and timber rattlesnake
This data set contains links that are important to each species' habitat network. Those important links are scored based on the percent currently under protection status, projected change in climate suitability by the middle of the 21st century, and projected change in percent urbanized by the middle of the 21st century. Important links were identified from all links in the networks of each species based on their Integral Index of Connectivity (dIIC). Any links with dIIC scores > 0.9 or which connected to nodes with dIIC > 0.9 were retained here as "important" links.
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Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges
National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) along the East Coast of the United States protect habitat for a host of wildlife species, while also offering storm surge protection, improving water quality, supporting nurseries for commercially important fish and shellfish, and providing recreation opportunities for coastal communities. Yet in the last century, coastal ecosystems in the eastern U.S. have been severely altered by human development activities as well as sea-level rise and more frequent extreme events related to climate change. These influences threaten the ability of NWRs to protect our nation’s natural resources and to sustain their many beneficial services. Through this project, researchers are collaborating with...
This webinar was recorded on May 7, 2015. Sustainable management of natural resources under competing demands is challenging, particularly when faced with novel and uncertain future climatic conditions. Meeting this challenge requires the consideration of information about the effects of management, disturbance, land use, and climate change on ecosystems. State-and-transition simulation models (STSMs) provide a flexible framework for integrating landscape processes and comparing alternative management scenarios, but incorporating climate change is an active area of research. In this presentation, three researchers present work funded by Climate Science Centers across the country to incorporate climate projections...
This file contains results from the project "Assessing climate-sensitive ecosystems in the southeastern U.S.", funded by the Department of Interior's Southeast Climate Science Center. Metrics required to use the Habitat Climate Change Vulnerability Index (HCCVI) framework, as developed by NatureServe are reported in this spreadsheet. The ecosystems are: East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods, and the Nashville Basin Limestone Glade and Woodland.
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Understanding Habitat Connectivity to Inform Conservation Decisions
In the Southeast, where rapid human development is increasingly dividing natural areas, habitat fragmentation and loss threaten the health and even genetic viability of wildlife populations, and interrupt migration routes. Climate change is projected to exacerbate fragmentation by further disrupting landscapes. To make matters worse, it is also expected to shift the range of many species, forcing animals capable of adapting by moving to expand into new areas to find more suitable temperatures and adequate food supplies – a challenge made difficult, if not impossible, by disconnected landscapes. Maintaining connectivity between habitats is a key strategy for conserving wildlife populations into the future, and sound...
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