Predicted climate impacts on arid U.S. Great Basin wetlands will alter their number, distribution, and quality (e.g., salinity). The scarcity and isolation of these wetlands make them essential not only to wildlife but to ranchers, farmers, and urban areas that rely on their ecosystem services. Great Basin wetlands are important habitats for migratory birds at high volumes, but they become concentrated mineral brines at low volumes, narrowing waterbird food resources as salinity rises. Thus, many resource managers need to answer two questions: How will climate change affect migratory bird species dependent on climate-sensitive wetlands? How should management strategies balance human-consumer uses of these water resources with the changing [...]
