Developing Products in Support of Actionable Climate Science
Dates
Release Date
2015
Summary
Climate change will alter ecosystems worldwide and ultimately lead to changes in biological communities and loss of both aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity (Xenopolous et al. 2005, Thomas et al. 2004, Hari et al. 2006). In response to anticipated changes, management agencies are increasingly calling for development of proactive conservation strategies (Heller and Zavaleta 2009, Hagerman et al. 2010). On high elevation tropical Pacific Islands that support perennial streams, including the five main Hawaiian Islands, amphidromous stream organisms require continuous flows to facilitate their migration between stream and ocean habitats. In the Hawaiian Islands, rainfall sustains stream base flows (Lau and Mink 2006), meaning that projected [...]
Summary
Climate change will alter ecosystems worldwide and ultimately lead to changes in biological communities and loss of both aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity (Xenopolous et al. 2005, Thomas et al. 2004, Hari et al. 2006). In response to anticipated changes, management agencies are increasingly calling for development of proactive conservation strategies (Heller and Zavaleta 2009, Hagerman et al. 2010). On high elevation tropical Pacific Islands that support perennial streams, including the five main Hawaiian Islands, amphidromous stream organisms require continuous flows to facilitate their migration between stream and ocean habitats. In the Hawaiian Islands, rainfall sustains stream base flows (Lau and Mink 2006), meaning that projected declines in rainfall and prolonged drought events will likely lead to declines in stream flow. Combined with increasing anthropogenic disturbance, these climate-driven changes may result in changes or reductions in species’ ranges, loss of habitat, and/or a potential loss of species (Melillo et al. 2014). In recognition of these threats and in support of adaptive management, the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center (PICSC) has called for development of tools to identify habitats likely to change with climate (Helweg et al. 2014). Further, the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative (PICCC) emphasizes supporting development of tools for managers that enable climate change adaptation strategies (PICCC 2013). A classification that identifies Hawaiian streams most likely to change with climate and that is informed by stakeholder input offers an opportunity to meet these needs.
