• Home
  • About
  • Program
  • Logistics
  • Abstracts

Wildlife Response to Environmental Arctic Change (WildREACH): Predicting Future Habitats of Arctic Alaska

Wildlife Response to Environmental Arctic Change (WildREACH): Predicting Future Habitats of Arctic Alaska
Type: 
Poster
Philip D Martin1, Jennifer Jenkins2, Francis J Adams3, M T Jorgenson4, Angela Matz5, David Payer6, Patricia Reynolds7, Amy Tidwell8, Jim Zelenak9
1Arctic Landscape Conservation Cooperative, US Fish and Wildlife Service, 101 12th Ave., Rm. 110, Fairbanks, AK, 99725, USA, Phone 907-456-0325, Fax 907-456-0208, philip_martin [at] fws [dot] gov
2US Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK, USA, jennifer_jenkins [at] fws [dot] gov
3US Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK, USA, jeff_adams [at] fws [dot] gov
4Alaska Ecoscience, Fairbanks, AK, USA
5US Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK, USA, angela_matz [at] fws [dot] gov
6US Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK, USA, david_payer [at] fws [dot] gov
7US Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK, USA, david-payer [at] fws [dot] gov
8University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA, ffact [at] uaf [dot] edu
9US Fish and Wildlife Service, Elkins, WV, USA, jim_zelenak [at] fws [dot] gov

The Arctic is warming at a rate almost twice the global average, and there is strong scientific consensus that changes in temperature, precipitation, and sea level will impact natural systems.  Low mean annual air and ground temperatures constrain timing of breeding, annual productivity, and habitat structure in the Arctic. Therefore, a warming trend will undoubtedly lead to changes in habitat suitability for a suite of arctic-adapted species. Currently, there are few tools available to assist wildlife managers in predicting the net effect of climate-driven changes on habitat availability and quality. The US Fish and Wildlife Service convened the WildREACH conference in 2008 to identify priority research, modeling, and syntheses needed to advance our understanding of the effects of climate change on birds, fish, and mammals of arctic Alaska. We used a conceptual modeling approach to identify the changes that would most strongly influence habitat suitability, and developed a preliminary list of species that would be sensitive indicators of those hypothesized shifts. Information gaps fell into four major cross-cutting themes: 1) precipitation and hydrology; 2) changes in vegetation community and phenology; 3) changes in invertebrate abundance and phenology, and 4) coastal dynamics. We recommended establishment of hydrologic observatories; development of predictive models coupling permafrost, hydrology, and biological systems; centralized data storage and interpretation; and research and monitoring to measure response of carefully selected species to climate-associated habitat change. Other high-priority modeling efforts would address processes that are currently observable: coastal processes (erosion, storm surge, deposition, vegetation succession), seasonality, shrub advance, fire regime, and thermokarst effects on surface water and drainage.

Presentation PDF

application/pdf iconDownload PDF (1.84 MB)

Browse Session Abstracts

  • View abstracts for the talks in each of the plenary session
  • View abstracts for the talks in each of the parallel session
  • View abstracts for the poster presentations
  • Products
  • Attendees
  • Sponsors
  • Side Meetings
  • Video Archive
  • Press
  • ARCUS Logo
  • News
  • Organizing Committee
National Science Foundation | Division of Arctic Sciences
National Science Foundation
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
Arctic System Science Program
Arctic System Science Program
US Arctic Research Commission
US Arctic Research Commission
North Slope Science Initiative
North Slope Science Initiative
International Arctic Science Committee
International Arctic Science Committee
Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Department of Energy
Department of Energy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
World Wildlife Fund
WWF
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
International Study of Arctic Change
International Study of Arctic Change
ArcticNet
ArcticNet
DAMOCLES
Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the ARCUS Cooperative Agreement ARC-0618885. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.