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  1. Tools for assessing climate impacts on fish and wildlife

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    Author(s): Chad B. Wilsey; Joshua J. Lawler; Edwin P. Maurer; Donald McKenzie; Patricia A. Townsend; Richard Gwozdz; James A. Freund; Keala Hagmann; Karen M. Hutten
    Date: 2013
    Source: Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management. 4(1): 220-241
    Publication Series: Scientific Journal (JRNL)
    Station: Pacific Northwest Research Station
    PDF: Download Publication  (2.01 MB)

    Description

    Climate change is already affecting many fish and wildlife populations. Managing these populations requires an understanding of the nature, magnitude, and distribution of current and future climate impacts. Scientists and managers have at their disposal a wide array of models for projecting climate impacts that can be used to build such an understanding. Here, we provide a broad overview of the types of models available for forecasting the effects of climate change on key processes that affect fish and wildlife habitat (hydrology, fire, and vegetation), as well as on individual species distributions and populations. We present a framework for how climate-impacts modeling can be used to address management concerns, providing examples of model-based assessments of climate impacts on salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest, fire regimes in the boreal region of Canada, prairies and savannas in the Willamette Valley-Puget Sound Trough-Georgia Basin ecoregion, and marten Martes americana populations in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. We also highlight some key limitations of these models and discuss how such limitations should be managed. We conclude with a general discussion of how these models can be integrated into fish and wildlife management.

    Publication Notes

    • Visit PNW's Publication Request Page to request a hard copy of this publication.
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    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Wilsey, Chad B.; Lawler, Joshua J.; Maurer, Edwin P.; McKenzie, Donald; Townsend, Patricia A.; Gwozdz, Richard; Freund, James A.; Hagmann, Keala; Hutten, Karen M. 2013. Tools for assessing climate impacts on fish and wildlife. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management. 4(1): 220-241.

    Keywords

    climate change, ecological modeling, hydrology, vegetation, fire

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