Terry L. Root and Kimberly R. Hall
Since the mid-1970s, our planet has been experiencing noticeable changes in global climate, such as rapid warming, which have strongly affected humans and natural systems. Current climate projections for the future suggest continued acceleration in the pace of these changes, leading to greater risk of harm, especially for those species and human populations that are least able to cope with change. Until collaborative efforts of governments find ways to reduce substantially the emissions of greenhouse gases and stabilize global climate patterns, those of us interested in conserving biodiversity will need to find direct ways to facilitate species’ adaptations to ever-changing climate conditions. As scientists and resource managers, it is absolutely essential that we communicate the impacts that we are seeing, as this is one way to help promote climate change mitigation efforts to replace fossil fuel energy with that generated via renewable energy. Further, we must use what we are learning to help develop and implement strategies that prepare people and species for the inevitable continued changes in climate that will occur before mitigation strategies can produce results. Indeed, if we fail to act in these ways, the number of species extinctions will likely be higher than humanity can afford to lose.
The challenge of helping natural systems adapt is huge, but not insurmountable, if all concerned pool their knowledge, expertise, and resources. Specifically, we are referring to scientists conducting decision-relevant research, natural resource managers, and conservation practitioners implementing climate-updated protocols in the field, and, especially, decision-makers who help shape policy. Strengthening the dialogue between researchers and practitioners will inevitably inspire new, proactive approaches to management. This kind of partnership also provides opportunities to identify constraints to the kinds of innovative actions needed to reduce risks to natural (and human) systems, as some actions may require changes in existing policies or new legislative tools before they can be implemented. By strengthening scientist–manager partnerships and aligning our messaging, we also improve our ability to promote needed updates to those in a position to implement policy change. As we strengthen these relationships, we also increase the odds that we will save a greater number of species from extinction, and will protect more people from climate-related risks.
The information and approaches in this book can be applied globally, even though most of the content refers to species and ecosystems occurring in California, USA. The California focus is a direct result of forward thinking by the California Energy Commission, which established the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program. PIER has supported a wide range of innovative and important research for understanding and planning for climate change. In this case, rather than investing directly in new research, the PIER program supported emerging scientists—including advanced graduate students and postdoctoral fellows researching the effect of climate change on various species in California—as they gained experience producing and communicating “decision-relevant” climate science. A team of us coordinated efforts to help these young scientists connect with, and learn from, each other, and to exchange information and ideas with field managers. Our primary goals were (1) to facilitate constructive dialogues between scientists and conservation managers and (2) to encourage this cohort of scientists to reach out and communicate (without jargon) how their results can be used to inform natural system management and conservation efforts.
Guidance on how to update conservation planning and management actions using scientific information about climate change observations and projections, linked with knowledge on species and system sensitivities to climate drivers, is emerging (e.g., Stein et al. 2014). Indeed, we see this volume as an important extension of this effort to help move the field of climate change adaptation toward on-the-ground changes. This book not only provides examples of how various species and ecosystems in California are, and will likely be, influenced by the present and forecast changes in climate, but also demonstrates how interactions between scientists and wildlife managers can provide new insights to both groups. It is our hope that by publishing a compelling and diverse array of scientific findings, along with discussions between scientists and natural resource managers, we will inspire similar conversations among many other scientists, practitioners, and decision-makers elsewhere.
Following an introductory chapter, the book is divided into three sections.
Chapter 1 lays out guidelines on how scientists and managers can work together. It explains how scientists, who are doing cutting-edge research, need to make their findings accessible to practitioners, and need to better understand what information is needed to inform decisions. By establishing such partnerships, natural resource managers will have timely access to science that could help them take actions necessary to aid the adaptation of species to the rapidly changing climate.
Chapter 2 reviews projections made by several global climate change models that incorporate data from the atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces. The authors extrapolate information, conclusions, and trends from models that can be potentially useful in the design of management protocols.
Chapter 3 reviews how rapid change in climate can affect specific species and ecosystems. Not only are species ranges and population densities in flux, but scientists are also documenting changes in behavior, phenology, genetics, and morphology.
Seven case studies address how particular species living in marine and terrestrial habitats have been, or are likely to be, affected by rapid changes in climate. While doing the research discussed in each chapter, the primary authors, who were senior graduate students or postdoctoral fellows at California universities, not only investigated the effects of climate change on species, but also endeavored to make their work relevant to managers in the field. At the end of each chapter, the primary authors discuss their research with manager(s), demonstrating one simple means of forming a partnership or linkage.
Chapter 4 focuses on regions of upwelling along the California coastline, modeling the ecological impact of krill abundance that can vary greatly in response to atmospheric changes associated with climate change. A scarcity of krill can adversely affect the survival of species that feed on krill, such as salmon and various seabirds (e.g., murres). Consequently, the abundance of krill has direct implications in the management of its predator species.
Chapter 5 examines the gene expression of the purple sea urchin to determine the genetic differences among populations along the Pacific Coast in waters at different temperatures. The authors found that individuals in populations many kilometers apart have more similar genomes than those taken from two populations on either side of Point Conception in California. This unexpected result can most likely be attributed to the large temperature differences off Point Conception. These findings undoubtedly can be applied to the very similar red sea urchin, which is one of California’s largest fisheries.
Chapter 6 provides recommendations on how to manage populations of salmon and trout living in the Klamath River Basin. There are real concerns that a rise in global average temperatures will dramatically depress the numbers of both species, or worse, lead to their extinction.
Chapter 7 presents population models of montane bumble bee communities in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The authors conclude that restoration of the meadows the bumble bees frequent can be an effective management tool to slow the loss of bumble bee species and the plants that depend on them for pollination.
Chapter 8 looks at 28 species of birds occurring in the Santa Rosa Mountains of southern California where average temperatures have increased by as much as 5°C (9°F) since the early 1960s. The authors report upward shifts in elevational ranges, especially for desert species, which were about three times farther than the distance montane species had shifted.
Chapter 9 focuses on the community dynamics of grasslands. The authors report that it is difficult to predict the response of individual species to changes in climate. Managing entire communities may indeed be the best approach for grasslands, and incorporating flexibility into plans will likely facilitate adaptation. Monitoring a diversity of species is probably the best strategy to avoid unwelcome surprises.
Chapter 10 examines the carbon storage and cycling between native perennial and nonnative annual grasses, and the atmosphere. Over the last 250 years, the transfer of 30 to 60 Mg of carbon per hectare from the soil to the atmosphere has occurred in coastal California grasslands, owing to the invasion and near replacement of native perennial grasses by nonnative annual grasses. Presumably, restoration of native perennials could help reverse this loss of carbon into the atmosphere.
Chapter 11 investigates how facilitating evolutionary mechanisms through management could possibly lower the extinction probabilities of select species. For example, could breeding between different populations or closely related species bolster vitality in changing environments? Or can establishment of corridors facilitate gene flow between separated populations? This review includes many examples from across the southwest.
Chapter 12 focuses on paleobiology and examines how information from prehistoric settings can aid managers by providing additional context for the changes they are seeing. The fossil record indicates that past changes in climate have modified the composition of ecological communities as well as the geographical range, population densities, genetics, morphology, and macroevolution of individual species.
Chapter 13 discusses how preexisting historic data on where species occurred can inform long-term monitoring of species responses to climate change. Such a temporal perspective can allow managers to detect long-term range shifts, colonization–extinction dynamics, and community changes within monitored landscapes. Often these data lay hidden in drawers and notebooks, and while there are important considerations with respect to appropriate use, they can provide unique and extremely valuable insights.
In 2002, one of the editors (TLR) and her late husband, Stephen H. Schneider, edited a book entitled Wildlife Responses to Climate Change, in which junior scientists provided case studies. At the time, they had two goals in mind: (1) “establish a credible scientific link between the health of natural systems (wildlife in particular) and human-induced climate change,” and (2) “help create a community of young scholars who can demonstrate that . . . connecting wildlife and climate change disciplines can be accomplished with a high level of scientific quality” (Schneider and Root 2002). Now over a decade later, there is abundant, rigorous science demonstrating that natural systems and species are at risk. This current book builds on that now well-established link between the survival of natural systems and human-induced climate change by providing information on a wide range of systems, and views from multiple ecological disciplines. Indeed, we have learned new and different information, and have often been amazed by the rate of responses shown by some species, or surprised by unanticipated shifts or interactions that we observe as we apply different tools to the substantial problem of rapid climate change. This increase in our understanding of species responses has allowed us to add another critical component to the mix: a focus on clear communication and partnerships that enables stronger linkages between scientists and practitioners engaged in natural resource management and conservation. We believe that these connections can lead to the creation of new legislative tools that impact management-agency actions, and “on the ground” conservation activities. While we hope that the information presented in this book will help inform management and inspire decision-relevant science, we have an even greater hope—that this book will help inspire stronger relationships, and greater trust, among people with different roles in the overall process of understanding, managing, and reducing climate-related risks. Through better communication, and more investment in working together to identify and apply the science, we will likely improve our odds of achieving the necessary goal of protecting species and systems. Getting this done is and will continue to be hard, and much of this work is very depressing. Consequently, we need to strengthen our support for science, and each other, in order to get the job done. Indeed, this book is offered with great appreciation to those who work daily to help sustain critical ecosystems and natural processes, and decrease the number of species facing extinction in California and elsewhere.
The editors wish to thank Shambhavi Singh for voluntarily reading, editing, summarizing, and formatting the different chapters of this book.
Schneider, S. H. and T. L. Root (eds). 2002. Wildlife Responses to Climate Change: North American Case Studies. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Stein, B. A., P. Glick, N. Edelson, and A. Staudt (eds). 2014. Climate-Smart Conservation: Putting Adaptation Principles into Practice. National Wildlife Federation, Washington, DC.