Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Featured Publication

Northwest CASC-supported researchers developed a new framework to assess how a wide variety of species may adapt to climate change.

Explore

Featured Publication

National CASC Scientists co-authored an article in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment documenting species range shifts under climate change.

Explore

Since its inception in 2008, CASC-funded research projects have generated over 2,000 publications in academic journals across the sciences, including articles in high-impact journals such as Science and Nature. Browse a selection of publications from CASC-funded projects below. For a complete list of our scientific projects, publications, and data, explore our Project Explorer database.

Project Explorer

CASC Network Annual Reports

White circle with map of contiguous US, Alaska, and Hawaii in green

The CASC network develops an annual report each year to highlight successful and interesting activities from across the network over the past year. Explore past network reports.

Learn More

Regional CASC Annual Reports

Blue block with white circle containing outlines of the 9 CASC regions.

On an annual basis, each regional CASC produces a report documenting the activities of the host university and consortium institutions. Explore past reports from each CASC.

Learn More
Filter Total Items: 503

Observed climate change

As discussed in Chapter 1, climate is one of the principal factors that have determined the composition and extent of forest ecosystems in the Mid-Atlantic region during the past several thousand years. This chapter describes the climate trends in the assessment area that have been observed during the past century, including documented patterns of climate-related processes and extreme weather even
Authors
Patricia R. Butler-Leopold, Louis R. Iverson, Frank R. Thompson, Leslie A. Brandt, Stephen D. Handler, Maria K. Janowiak, P. Danielle Shannon, Christopher W. Swanston, Scott Bearer, Alexander Bryan, Kenneth L. Clark, Greg Czarnecki, Philip DeSenze, William D. Dijak, Jacob S. Fraser, Paul F. Gugger, Andrea Hille, Justin Hynicka, Claire A. Jantz, Matthew C. Kelly, Katrina M. Krause, Inga P. La Puma, Deborah Landau, Richard G. Lathrop, Laura P. Leites, Evan Madlinger, Stephen N. Matthews, Gulnihal Ozbay, Matthew P. Peters, Anantha Prasad, David A. Schmit, Collin Shephard, Rebecca Shirer, Nicholas S. Skowronski, Al Steele, Susan Stout, Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy, John Thompson, Richard M. Turcotte, David A. Weinstein, Alfonso Yáñez
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Average annual temperature for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands has increased by more than 1.5°F since 1950. Under a higher emissions pathway, historically unprecedented warming is projected by the end of the 21st century, including increases in extreme heat events. Future changes in total precipitation are uncertain, but extreme precipitation is projected to increase, with associated incre
Authors
Jennifer Runkle, Kenneth E. Kunkel, Laura E. Stevens, Sarah Champion, David Easterling, Adam Terando, Liqiang Sun, Brooke C. Stewart, Glenn Landers
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Development of the Wildlife Adaptation Menu for Resource Managers

The Climate Change Response Framework is an example of a collaborative, cross-boundary approach to create a set of tools, partnerships, and actions to support climate-informed conservation and land management. Historically, this effort has focused on the needs of forest managers and forestry professionals. In recent years, however, there has been increasing demand for science and tools to address
Authors
Olivia E. LeDee, Stephen D. Handler, Chris Hoving, Christopher W. Swanston, Benjamin Zuckerberg
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

A review of coastal management approaches to support the integration of ecological and human community planning for climate change

The resilience of socio-ecological systems to sea level rise, storms and flooding can be enhanced when coastal habitats are used as natural infrastructure. Grey infrastructure has long been used for coastal flood protection but can lead to unintended negative impacts. Natural infrastructure often provides similar services as well as added benefits that support short- and long-term biological, cult
Authors
Emily J. Powell, Megan C. Tyrrell, Andrew Milliken, John M. Tirpak, Michelle D. Staudinger
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Habitat overlap between Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus and red panda Ailurus fulgens in Himalaya

Studying habitat overlap between sympatric species is one of the best ways to identify interspecies relationships and to direct conservation efforts so that multiple species can benefit. However, studies exploring interspecies relationships are very limited in Nepal, making it difficult for the government of Nepal and conservation partners to manage wildlife in their habitats, especially in Himala
Authors
Manjit Bista, Saroj Panthi, Sarah R. Weiskopf
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Hypotheses from recent assessments of climate impacts to biodiversity and ecosystems in the United States

Climate change poses multiple threats to biodiversity, and has already caused demonstrable impacts. We summarize key results from a recent national assessment of observed climate change impacts to terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems in the United States, and place results in the context of commonly articulated hypotheses about ecosystem response to climate change for global implications
Authors
Shawn L. Carter, Abigail Lynch, Bonnie Myers, Madeleine A. Rubenstein, Laura M. Thompson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Intensive sampling reveals underreported use of great-river tributaries by large-river fishes in Missouri

Large tributaries may help sustain large-river fish populations by mitigating fish-habitat losses within the highly modified great rivers of the Mississippi River basin. These tributaries are likely most beneficial for fish species specializing on non-degraded large-river habitat for some portion of their life histories. Few great-river tributaries, however, have been surveyed using methods that c
Authors
Corey G. Dunn, Brandon L. Brooke, Robert A. Hrabik, Craig P. Paukert
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Cooperative Research Units

Past and future global transformation of terrestrial ecosystems under climate change

Impacts of global climate change on terrestrial ecosystems are imperfectly constrained by ecosystem models and direct observations. Pervasive ecosystem transformations occurred in response to warming and associated climatic changes during the last glacial-to-interglacial transition, which was comparable in magnitude to warming projected for the next century under high-emission scenarios. We review
Authors
Connor Nolan, Jonathan T. Overpeck, Judy R. M. Allen, Patricia M. Anderson, Julio L. Betancourt, Heather A. Binney, Simon Brewer, Mark B. Bush, Brian M. Chase, Rachid Cheddadi, Morteza Djamali, John Dodson, Mary E. Edwards, William D. Gosling, Simon Haberle, Sara C. Hotchkiss, Brian Huntley, Sarah J. Ivory, A. Peter Kershaw, Soo-Hyun Kim, Claudio Latorre, Michelle Leydet, Anne-Marie Lézine, Kam-Biu Liu, Yao Liu, A. V. Lozhkin, Matt S. McGlone, Robert A. Marchant, Arata Momohara, Patricio I. Moreno, Stefanie Müller, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Caiming Shen, Janelle Stevenson, Hikaru Takahara, Pavel E. Tarasov, John Tipton, Annie Vincens, Chengyu Weng, Qinghai Xu, Zhuo Zheng, Stephen T. Jackson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Climate change and future wildfire in the western USA: An ecological approach to nonstationarity

We developed ecologically based climate‐fire projections for the western United States. Using a finer ecological classification and fire‐relevant climate predictors, we created statistical models linking climate and wildfire area burned for ecosections, which are geographic delineations based on biophysical variables. The results indicate a gradient from purely fuel‐limited (antecedent positive wa
Authors
Jeremy S. Littell, Donald McKenzie, Ho Yi Wan, Samuel A. Cushman
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Wildland Fire Science

Final report for climate effects on the culture and ecology of sugar maple

Maple syrup is produced from the sap of sugar maple trees collected in the late winter and early spring. Native American tribes have collected and boiled down sap for centuries, and the tapping of maple trees is a cultural touchstone for many people in the northeast and Midwest. Because the tapping season is dependent on weather conditions, there is concern about the sustainability of maple sugari
Authors
Toni Lyn Morelli, Kristina A. Stinson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Moving from eco-forecasts to eco-projections

Ecological models can provide estimates of future conditions that are useful for decision-making, including long-term planning and resource prioritization. However, these models often rely on assumptions about ecological relationships and trajectories, forcings (e.g., biophysical conditions), and management approaches that may not be explicitly considered. To make assumptions more transparent, dis
Authors
Brian W. Miller, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Gregor W. Schuurman, Jamie K Reaser
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Spatial patterns of development drive water use

Water availability is becoming more uncertain as human populations grow, cities expand into rural regions and the climate changes. In this study, we examine the functional relationship between water use and the spatial patterns of developed land across the rapidly growing region of the southeastern United States. We quantified the spatial pattern of developed land within census tract boundaries, i
Authors
G.M. Sanchez, J.W. Smith, Adam J. Terando, G. Sun, R.K. Meentemeyer
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers