Transcript Climate Change: Wildlife and Wild Lands Impact on Western Species

For classroom teachers and informal educators in parks,
refuges, forest lands, nature centers, zoos, aquariums,
science centers.
Target audience - middle school grade level
Case study approach that includes the science of climate
change, its impacts on U.S. wildlife and wildlands, and
what students can do to help address the issues.
Activities for students – based on the 11 eco-region case studies – including
science, social science, math, language arts, and art activities. Developed by master
teachers in the 2008 Albert Einstein Fellowship. The specific Climate Literacy
Guidelines and National Education Standards are referenced for each activity.
Glossary of Scientific Terms – great for vocabulary development.
Template and instructions for making the popular EPA Global Warming Wheel Card
PDF of Poster titled “How Do You Measure Up?” illustrating the importance of
setting goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in households, schools,
communities, etc., by first taking an inventory of one’s present emissions.
Video – 12 minute, high definition, engaging and highly informative video on
climate change science and impacts on wildlife and their habitat in U.S., to be used in
classrooms as an introduction to the topic or in Visitor Centers and in
docent/interpreter talks in informal educational settings.
Fact sheets on how migratory birds and cold-water fish will be impacted by
climate change
Case Studies focus on 11 ecoregions in the U.S.
•Western Forests and Mountains – Mountain Pine Beetle
•Western Coastline - Salmon
•Eastern Coastline – Diamondback Terrapin
•Gulf Coast – Red Mangrove
Ecoregion Format:
•Pacific Islands – Monk Seal
•Caribbean – Coral reefs
•Introduction to geographic
and geologic features
•Great Lakes – Lake trou
•Ecosystem characteristics
•Polar / Subpolar (Alaska) – Pacific Walrus
•Impacts of Climate Change
•Desert Arid – Desert Pupfish
•Spotlight on a Species
•Prairie Grasslands – Waterfowl
•Profiling an Climate Steward
•Lesson Plans
•Eastern Forests and Woodlands – Bees
and Pollination
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State of Hawai’i, and the territories
of Guam and American Samoa
Spotlight Species: Hawaiian monk
seal
Named for its solitary nature and
because the folds of skin on its
head resemble a monk’s hood.
NWHI are spread over more than1,200 miles of the Pacific Ocean
• Low lying area –
Highest elevation – 3 (9.8 ft).
•Open atoll of a large, crescent-shaped reef
surrounding numerous small, sandy islets.
•Refuge to the largest sub-population of
endangered Hawaiian monk seals
• Over 938 square kilometers
Tern Island, a part of the atoll, was formed into a runway to
serve as a refueling stop for planes enroute to Midway during
World War II.
Breeding ground for 90% of threatened green
sea turtles in the Hawaiian Islands.
Many of its anatomical features closely
resemble those of a species of monk seal
that lived along the East Coast of the United
States some 14 to 16 million years ago.
The Hawaiian monk seal population is at
its lowest level in recorded history.
About 1,200 individuals are alive.
Hawaiian monk seals do not leave their
island chain home.
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Females prefer to pup on sandy beaches in
areas with shallow, protected water near
shore.
Predation by sharks on young monk seals has
been identified as a critical factor in the seal's
survival at French Frigate Shoals
Galapagos sharks
pose a threat to
Hawaiian monk seal
pups at French
Frigate Shoals.
In 1963, Whaleskate
Island was the
second largest islet
used for pupping.
By the late 1990s,
Whaleskate Island
disappeared.
Trig Island became
the most common
birthing site.
Crowding of females
and pups onto Trig
Island may have
contributed to the
increase
in shark attacks.
By 2100 terrestrial habitat loss is predicted to
be up to:
65% under a med scenario (48 cm rise)
75% under the max scenario (88 cm rise)
Photo Credit: Jessica Aschettino
Activity 1: Mapping Deep-Sea Habits
Activity 2: Monk Seals: The Odd Couple
Activity 3: Monk Seals: Seals, Corals and
Dollars
Climates:
• Southern California’s Mediterranean (mild rainy
winters and warm dry summers)
• Northern colder regions with high precipitation
• Increase in sea level
• Increased frequency of
severe storms
• Increased coastal erosion
• Region has grown warmer and wetter, with
average temperature in the NW United States
inc 1 - 4° F in the past century.
• Temperatures projected to rise 3 - 10° F this
century.
• Warmer temperatures will result in more
precipitation falling as rain rather than snow
• Snowpack will diminish and stream flow
timing will be altered
• Peak river flows will likely increase
• Water temperatures will continue to rise
Warm
Cool
Typical wintertime Sea Surface Temperature (colors), Sea
Level Pressure (contours) and surface wind stress (arrows)
• Major changes in northeast Pacific marine
ecosystems
• Warm eras see enhanced coastal ocean
biological productivity in Alaska
• Inhibited productivity off the west coast
of the contiguous United States
• Cold PDO eras see the opposite northsouth pattern of marine ecosystem
productivity.
• What is the effect of PDO on Salmon populations?
• What is the difference between cyclical increases
and decreases and long term changes in salmon
populations?
•What is the trend of sea surface temperature?
• How will long-term climate changes impact
northwest Pacific salmon populations?
PDO Index from 1955 to 2005
(Number is calculated from data including sea surface anomalies)
• What is the effect of PDO on Salmon populations?
• What is the difference between cyclical increases
and decreases and long term changes in salmon
populations?
•What is the trend of sea surface temperature?
• How will long-term climate changes impact
northwest Pacific salmon populations?
Salmon runs increase in cold PDO years and decrease
in warm years
What is the overall long term trend of sea surface
temperature?
Many people look at years with increasing populations
as “evidence” that there is no climate change impact
on salmon.
What is the difference between cycles and long term
trends/changes?
• A higher frequency of severe floods.
• Snowpacks will run off earlier in the spring
• Summer base flows of streams will be lower
• Network of perennially flowing streams will shrink during
the summer dry period
• Warmer water temperatures will lower growth rates if
warmer streams do not produce sufficient food resources
to offset heightened metabolic demands.
• Summer temperatures may approach or exceed lethal
levels for salmon and trout
• Higher temperatures will likely favor non-salmonid
species that are better adapted to warmer water, including
potential predators and competitors