Habitat Vulnerability to Climate Change: Identifying Climate Change Induced Mass Mortality Events Across Large Landscapes of the United States
USGS researchers will characterize extreme climatic events across U.S. following a review of case studies of mass mortality events associated with climate extremes including drought, precipitation, freeze, heat waves, and storm events.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Climate change is causing significant changes in ecosystem structure, function, and stability, leading to losses of ecosystem services and in some cases complete habitat loss. Changes in the frequency and intensity of climate extremes such as extreme drought, extreme tropical cyclones, extreme precipitation, and extreme freeze events, are expected and have the potential to cause widespread mass mortality of ecologically important species. Over the last decade, USGS research has greatly advanced our understanding of climate change impacts on critical ecosystems, providing valuable information that has helped land managers better anticipate and prepare for future changes. However, because of the abrupt nature of climate extremes, it is often difficult to detect and characterize mass mortality events in a timely manner, and the future effect of climate extremes is often not accounted for in current climate vulnerability assessments. To improve our ability to predict and plan for future extreme climatic events, additional information synthesizing understanding of climate change induced mass mortality events and their interaction with gradual shifts in climate and human land use activities across multiple large landscapes are needed.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: The primary objective is to characterize extreme climatic events across multiple large landscapes of the U.S. The targeted product will be a review paper that identifies case studies of mass mortality events associated with climate extremes in each of the large landscapes including Puget Sound, San Francisco Estuary, the Desert Southwest, Greater Everglades, and the Gulf of Mexico. We will seek to provide examples of mass mortality events associated with multiple major climate extremes including drought, precipitation, freeze, heat waves, and storm events. Landscape coordinators will develop the information needed regarding mass mortality events and climate extremes in their region. These scientists will then collaborate to develop a synthesis of information in the form of a journal article.
Future Steps: If time and interest allow, we will describe data needs and availability for detection of extreme climatic events. Together, this information will help us to improve our ability to predict habitat vulnerability to future climate.
USGS researchers will characterize extreme climatic events across U.S. following a review of case studies of mass mortality events associated with climate extremes including drought, precipitation, freeze, heat waves, and storm events.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Climate change is causing significant changes in ecosystem structure, function, and stability, leading to losses of ecosystem services and in some cases complete habitat loss. Changes in the frequency and intensity of climate extremes such as extreme drought, extreme tropical cyclones, extreme precipitation, and extreme freeze events, are expected and have the potential to cause widespread mass mortality of ecologically important species. Over the last decade, USGS research has greatly advanced our understanding of climate change impacts on critical ecosystems, providing valuable information that has helped land managers better anticipate and prepare for future changes. However, because of the abrupt nature of climate extremes, it is often difficult to detect and characterize mass mortality events in a timely manner, and the future effect of climate extremes is often not accounted for in current climate vulnerability assessments. To improve our ability to predict and plan for future extreme climatic events, additional information synthesizing understanding of climate change induced mass mortality events and their interaction with gradual shifts in climate and human land use activities across multiple large landscapes are needed.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: The primary objective is to characterize extreme climatic events across multiple large landscapes of the U.S. The targeted product will be a review paper that identifies case studies of mass mortality events associated with climate extremes in each of the large landscapes including Puget Sound, San Francisco Estuary, the Desert Southwest, Greater Everglades, and the Gulf of Mexico. We will seek to provide examples of mass mortality events associated with multiple major climate extremes including drought, precipitation, freeze, heat waves, and storm events. Landscape coordinators will develop the information needed regarding mass mortality events and climate extremes in their region. These scientists will then collaborate to develop a synthesis of information in the form of a journal article.
Future Steps: If time and interest allow, we will describe data needs and availability for detection of extreme climatic events. Together, this information will help us to improve our ability to predict habitat vulnerability to future climate.