Transcript Biodiversity In The Face Of Climate Change

Biodiversity In
The Face Of
Climate
Change
Douglas Fir: A Giant of the
West
NEEDLES
CONES
Coniferous: Has straight thin needles for leaves
and produces cones.
Can grow up to 300 feet tall.
• Important food source for: Voles, Shrews and Chipmunks
Also an important nesting habitat
for marbled murrelets
Found in
moist coastal
areas of
Washington,
Oregon and
Northern
California.
Also Found
in the
Higher
Elevations
of the Rocky
Mountains
Computer models predict warmer coastal temperatures and shifts in
rainfall patterns over the next 80 years.
Unknown but dramatic
shifts in
coastal forest ecosystems
The result might be
Expanding forests
to the north
Receding coastal
habitat
Rushing to be first!
THE MELTWATER STONEFLY
An aquatic stream
dwelling insect found
only in Glacier National
Park
Species listed as endangered
due to climate change
They live in a very narrow range of
temperature in glacial melt streams.
Rarely found more
than a few hundred
meters from a glacier
Almost never found above 10oC
Clear documentation of retreating
glaciers in glacier nation park
And predictions indicate that they will continue
to retreat until they are gone.
With glaciers gone, the Meltwater
Stonefly is likely to follow them out of
existence.
The trouble is, the
glaciers might return,
Have you ever heard of a stonefly?
SO WHO CARES?
but the Meltwater Stonefly
will be gone forever.
I DO!
When we try to pick out
anything by itself, we
find it hitched to
everything else in the
universe. -- John Muir
Pack Your Bags: We’re Heading
North
The Elegant Trogon
They pluck insects from the air,
and grab fruit on the wing.
A beautiful member of the
spectacular Trogon family
They like dry riverside sycamore
groves from Costa Rica to
Northern Mexico and rarely
venture into Arizona.
Summer Range Only
Sonoran Desert of Arizona
1.5oF rise in average
temperature since
mid-century
Saguaro Cactus
Sycamor
The overall impact of climate change in
this desert is still little understood:
Deserts change very slowly.
Elegant Trogons have been
reliably sighted further north
than ever before recorded at
Montezuma’s Castle National
Park
What does this mean?
Montezuma’s Castle
It means Elegant Trogons are moving
north which indicates 1 of two things:
1. The Trogons are moving their
overall range northward.
2. The Trogons are expanding
northward and will benefit from
the changing climate as a species.
Winter Range Moving
North
Many Trogons have also been
reliably recorded to stay the
winter in Arizona in the last 4
years.
The Savannah Of Northern Australia
The Balance of Life
And, The
Gouldian Finch
For The Gouldian
Finch, A Successful
Year Comes Down
to Two Things:
Dry season wildfires knock the
seeds to the ground making them
easier to eat.
Lots of seed
makes happy
breeders.
Plentiful Winter Rains
Brings Lush Grass and
Lots of Seeds
Climate Computer Models Predict a Few Scenarios For the Future
Drought
Conditions
Reduce Seed
Production
Changes in
wet and dry
seasons
could mean
the fires
come at the
wrong time
and leave no
viable food
behind
Normal rainfall will happen
earlier which means normal
seed production, but
possibly a shortage of water
later in the year.
Gouldian Finches are already endangered
because of pet trade capture.
Australia already has a
plan to protect the birds
and bring the population
numbers back up
But, will climate change
alter the dry grassland
habitat and prove to be
too much for this already
beleaguered bird?