Study Examines Impacts of Climate Change on Wildlife in the Northern Rocky Mountains

Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NRMSC, Bozeman) | Format: .PDF

www.nrmsc.usgs.gov — The ecology of hoofed big-game species in the northern Rocky Mountains, known as ungulates, is strongly influenced by climate. Climate change impacts summer precipitation, winter snow pack, and the timing of spring green-up, all of which control animal physiology, demography, diet, habitat selection, and predator prey interactions. However, the More... The ecology of hoofed big-game species in the northern Rocky Mountains, known as ungulates, is strongly influenced by climate. Climate change impacts summer precipitation, winter snow pack, and the timing of spring green-up, all of which control animal physiology, demography, diet, habitat selection, and predator prey interactions. However, the degree of response to these impacts from animals such as elk, moose, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope is uncertain. In this project, scientists will study how global climate change may impact ungulate species. Researchers will examine how climate change induced events such as decreased snow pack, early spring conditions, and increased drought may alter species migration routes and population numbers, influence disease prevalence such as brucellosis in feed grounds, and impact abundance of vegetation such as aspen. Less...