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A large portion of the U.S. population lives in coastal areas along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the Caribbean; however, our coasts are also home to many fish, wildlife, and plant species that are important for recreation, tourism, local economies, biodiversity, and healthy coastal ecosystems. Coastal habitats also provide protective ecosystem services to human communities, which are increasingly at risk to storms and sea level rise under future climate change. Understanding how climate change will impact natural and human communities is a crucial part of decision making and management related to the protection of our coasts. In a collaborative project between the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative...
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Indigenous Nations are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, due in part to their reliance on healthy ecosystems to provide culturally significant plants that are used for traditional foods, medicines, and materials. Further, many Indigenous communities have an under-resourced capacity for climate adaptation, resulting in significant environmental justice impacts that range from health disparities to heightened disaster risks. There is growing recognition across the globe of the important role of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in climate change resilience and the innovative solutions that lie at the intersection of Indigenous and western knowledge. However, Indigenous knowledge has...
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Prairie ecosystems and the grassland birds that rely on them for habitat may be particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in climate. Extensive portions of prairie have already been lost due to agriculture and urbanization, and as a result grassland birds have declined more than any other bird group in the last four decades. Now, climate change could exacerbate existing threats to these birds as temperatures in certain prairie ecosystems are expected to rise and extreme weather events, such as drought, could become more common. The goal of this project was to develop a framework to identify demographic sensitivities and assess the vulnerability of grassland bird species to future climate change. To do so, the researchers...
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Climate change will have sweeping impacts across the Northeast, yet there are key gaps in our understanding about whether species will be able to adapt to this changing environment. Results from this project will illuminate local and region-wide changes in forest ecosystems by studying the red-backed salamander, a species that is a strong indicator of forest conditions. This study identified habitat and forest characteristics that improve the resiliency of forest dwelling amphibians and other wildlife to climate change. Further, by studying a foundational species in forest floor ecosystems, the scientists can use the information to make inferences about rare and declining species. The researchers studied multiple...
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Coastal ecosystems are uniquely vulnerable to changes in the quantity and quality of freshwater discharge. With a warming climate, changes in freshwater discharge into estuaries will interact with rising sea levels. Coastal natural resource managers need guidance on the potential impacts and vulnerabilities to better manage the risks to aquatic species and habitats and to mitigate species decline or collapse resulting from changes in freshwater availability. This project will inform resource managers on the development of management plans that protect coastal ecosystems and species while accounting for changes in freshwater availability under climate uncertainty. To achieve this, the proposed project has three objectives....
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Climate and land use change will strongly affect tropical island ecosystems and trust species (like migratory birds and threatened and endangered species). The risks of significant negative impacts are likely to be higher in these island systems than in many temperate regions of the world because of the limited size of their land masses, high numbers of species that only exist in narrowly defined regions, and expectations that tropical environments will experience greater changes in temperature. Tropical island communities are faced with making important decisions related to adaptation that could impact the health of important natural resources and ecosystems. However, a lack of scientific guidance and information...
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Coastal marshes are vital habitats that protect and support our coastal communities and economies by providing protection from storm surge, filtering pollutants, and providing recreational opportunities. Rising sea levels threaten marshes and jeopardize the benefits they provide to human communities and ecosystems. To preserve these benefits, coastal resource managers need to understand how marshes will change in the short- and long-term in response to rising sea levels. Scientific models provide resource managers with an effective way to visualize and understand these changes, but the numerous choices of marsh models currently available can be overwhelming to coastal managers. The similarities and differences...
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While 21st century temperatures are projected to increase in Puerto Rico and the broader U.S. Caribbean (whose geography is contained within the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative, or CLCC), the low variability and already high annual average temperatures suggest that the largest climate-related impact on ecosystems and water resources is more likely to be through changes in the timing, pattern, and availability of moisture. The development of adaptation strategies that respond to anthropogenic climate change for the CLCC, and particularly for Puerto Rico, is currently hindered by the lack of local-scale climate scenarios that resolve the complex topographical and meso-scale climate features that will...
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The Global Change Graduate Fellows Program is designed to train the next generation of global change scientists by providing financial, scientific, and professional development support for graduate students who are interested in multi-disciplinary research. They come together across disciplines to discover, collaborate, and share their knowledge with diverse stakeholders. Additionally, students need to be dedicated to making the science related to climate change better, where better means more true, of a greater impact, or, as our land grant mission dictates, more ethical and just. This program is sponsored by the USGS Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and NC State University. Applicants must be an NC...
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Coral reefs are some of the most biologically rich and economically valuable ecosystems in the world. They provide food, fishing, and recreation opportunities for millions of people, protect coastlines from storms, and shelter thousands of plant and animal species. However, climate change is contributing to the degradation of coral reefs in two significant ways: warming temperature and increasing acidification of ocean waters. Scientists are actively working to gather more specific information about how these factors will impact coral reef ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in climate vulnerability among three important reef-building coral species in the Florida Keys. Researchers...
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This project built on an existing regional conservation partnership to use the most recent downscaled climate model projections to forecast the likely impacts of climate change to species and ecosystems in the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV). The objective of this work was to develop and test ecological and biological models to facilitate regional adaptive management of wildlife resources and the forest and wetland ecosystems that support them in the LMV. The modeled projections were then used to evaluate climate change effects on high priority bird species, waterfowl, amphibians, and fisheries. In particular, the researchers sought to answer two key questions: (1) what are the impacts of predicted climate change...
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In August 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey acquired high-resolution P- and S-wave seismic data near six Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN) recording stations in southern California: CI.OLI Olinda; CI.SRN Serrano; CI.MUR Murrieta; CI.LCG La Cienega; CI.RUS Rush; and CI.STC Santa Clara (Figure 1). These strong-motion recording stations are located inside Southern California Edison electrical substations, critical infrastructures that provide essential services to millions of customers. The primary goals of the seismic survey were to understand the potential for amplified ground shaking and to evaluate lateral variability in shear-wave velocity at these sites. We deployed up to 88 geophones at 2-m or 4-m...
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Fire history metrics enable rapidly increasing amounts of burned area data to be collapsed into a handful of data layers that can be used efficiently by diverse stakeholders. In this effort, the U.S. Geological Survey's Landsat Burned Area product was used to identify burned area across CONUS over a 40-year period (1984-2023). The Landsat BA product was consolidated into a suite of annual BA products, which in-turn were used to calculate a series of contemporary fire history metrics (30 m resolution). Fire history metrics included: (1) fire frequency (FRQ), (2) time since last burn (TSLB) and (3) year of last burn (YLB), (4) longest fire-free interval (LFFI), and (5) average fire interval length (FIL). All metrics...
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The broadly shared information needs for grassland managers in the North Central region to meet conservation goals in a changing climate are presented and ranked as highly relevant, somewhat relevant, or not relevant for federal, state, tribal, and non-governmental grassland-managing entities.
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Inland recreational fishing, defined as primarily leisure-driven fishing in freshwaters, is a popular past-time in the USA. State natural resource agencies endeavor to provide high-quality and sustainable fishing opportunities for anglers. Managers often use creel and other angler-survey data to inform state- and waterbody-level management efforts. Despite the broad implementation of angler surveys and their importance to fisheries management at state scales, regional and national coordination among these activities is minimal, limiting data applicability for larger-scale management practices and research. The goal of this project is to develop and implement the U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat),...
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There have been increasing concerns regarding the decline in moose numbers along the southern range of their North American distribution. This has prompted varied research efforts to determine the factors contributing to the reduced local populations. Although heat stress from increasing temperatures could be a potential factor for declining populations in Minnesota, temperature increases have also occurred in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut where populations have been expanding in recent years. Alternatively, indirect climate effects from warmer temperatures may be playing a role, such as increased prevalence of parasites (e.g., brainworm, winter tick) to levels lethal to moose. Additionally, factors such...
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The eight Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers (CSCs), managed by the USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC), work closely with natural and cultural resource managers to gather needed scientific information about the impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife and ecosystems. Given the critical role of the CSC’s in engaging with partners to define climate science needs, conduct or fund science activities, and convey the results to partners, it is important to periodically evaluate the efficacy of the CSC program. The American Fisheries Society and the Human Dimensions Research Unit of Cornell University have been engaged by NCCWSC to lead 5-year reviews of the CSCs. The...
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As glaciers melt from climate change, their contents – namely, large quantities of freshwater, sediment, and nutrients – are slowly released into coastal ecosystems. This project addressed the impacts of melting glaciers on coastal ecosystems in the Copper River region of the Gulf of Alaska, which is home to several commercially important fisheries. Researchers examined how glacial melting is altering the amount and timing of freshwater that enters the Gulf of Alaska from the Copper River. They also investigated the source and amount of two nutrients, iron and nitrate, dissolved in the water. As a complementary piece of the study, researchers tested the relationship between nutrient levels, plankton populations,...
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Species that inhabit the arid Southwest are adapted to living in hot, dry environments. Yet the increasing frequency and severity of drought in the region may create conditions that even these hardy species can’t survive. This project examined the impacts of drought in the southwestern U.S. on four of the region’s iconic species: desert bighorn sheep, American pronghorn, scaled quail, and Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Grasping the impacts of drought on fish and wildlife is critical for management planning in the Southwest, as climate models project warmer, drier conditions for the region in the future. Species are known to respond to environmental changes such as drought in different ways. Often, before changes...
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As the climate continues to change, vulnerable wildlife species will need management strategies to help them adapt to these changes. One specific management strategy is based on the idea that in certain locations, climate conditions will remain suitable for species to continue to inhabit into the future. These locations are known as climate “refugia”. In contrast, other locations may become too hot, dry, or wet for species to continue to inhabit. When wildlife managers are considering protecting land for vulnerable species, it can be helpful for them to understand where these climate refugia are located, so that they can be prioritized for conservation. However, most tools used by resource managers to manage these...
map background search result map search result map Impacts of Climate Change and Melting Glaciers on Coastal Ecosystems in the Gulf of Alaska Impact of Ocean Warming and Acidification on Growth of Reef-Building Corals Forecasting the Effects of Land-Use and Climate Change on Wildlife Communities and Habitats in the Lower Mississippi Valley Assessing the Vulnerability of Grassland Bird Populations to Climate Change Modeling Future Temperature and Precipitation for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Caribbean The Impacts of Drought on Fish and Wildlife in the Southwestern U.S. Understanding the Future of Red-Backed Salamanders as an Indicator of Future Forest Health Climate Change Implications for the Conservation of Amphibians in Tropical Environments Assessing the Science, Partner Engagement, and Information Use for Natural Resources Management - Five-year Reviews of the Climate Science Centers Identifying Critical Thresholds and Tipping Points for Priority Coastal Species in a Changing Future Moose Health in a Changing Environment The U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat): A Database and Interactive Tool for Inland Fisheries Management and Research Improving the Usability of Modeling Tools for Predicting Coastal Marsh Response to Sea Level Rise Refugia are Important but are they Connected? Mapping Well-Connected Climate Refugia for Species of Conservation Concern in the Northeastern U.S. Global Change Fellows High-resolution seismic data acquired at six Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN) recording stations in 2017 Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2023) (ver. 3.0, April 2024) Broadly Shared Information Needs Among Grassland Managers in the North Central Region Future of Aquatic Flows: Exploring Changes in the Freshwater/Saltwater Interface and Related Impacts to Aquatic Species Indigenous-led Restoration and Stewardship of Culturally Significant Plants for Climate Change Adaptation in the Northeast High-resolution seismic data acquired at six Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN) recording stations in 2017 Forecasting the Effects of Land-Use and Climate Change on Wildlife Communities and Habitats in the Lower Mississippi Valley Impacts of Climate Change and Melting Glaciers on Coastal Ecosystems in the Gulf of Alaska Modeling Future Temperature and Precipitation for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Caribbean Impact of Ocean Warming and Acidification on Growth of Reef-Building Corals Improving the Usability of Modeling Tools for Predicting Coastal Marsh Response to Sea Level Rise Refugia are Important but are they Connected? Mapping Well-Connected Climate Refugia for Species of Conservation Concern in the Northeastern U.S. Indigenous-led Restoration and Stewardship of Culturally Significant Plants for Climate Change Adaptation in the Northeast Broadly Shared Information Needs Among Grassland Managers in the North Central Region The Impacts of Drought on Fish and Wildlife in the Southwestern U.S. Understanding the Future of Red-Backed Salamanders as an Indicator of Future Forest Health Global Change Fellows Moose Health in a Changing Environment Identifying Critical Thresholds and Tipping Points for Priority Coastal Species in a Changing Future Assessing the Vulnerability of Grassland Bird Populations to Climate Change Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2023) (ver. 3.0, April 2024) Future of Aquatic Flows: Exploring Changes in the Freshwater/Saltwater Interface and Related Impacts to Aquatic Species The U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat): A Database and Interactive Tool for Inland Fisheries Management and Research Assessing the Science, Partner Engagement, and Information Use for Natural Resources Management - Five-year Reviews of the Climate Science Centers