Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK)
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Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK)
Home | About Us | Science | Product Library | News & Events | Staff | Students | Partners | Contact Us
Glaciers are receding, seasons seem to be getting longer, and many areas in the western United States are undergoing drought. In fact, mean air temperatures have increased by approximately 0.6 degrees C globally during the past 100 years. And, according to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, air temperature is expected to continue warming globally from 1.4 to 5.8 degrees C during the 21st century. However, some still aren’t certain if climate change is a long term event or temporary trend. Why not look at those that will be most affected by the impacts of climate-change on our Rocky Mountain ecosystems? Wildlife.
Scientists and their partners at the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) are doing just that. Two studies funded by a new USGS initiative on Global Climate Change and Wildlife Science are underway to examine how climate change may be impacting the habitats of native fish and ungulate species. The goal of both projects is to provide tools that will help wildlife managers predict potential climate change induced impacts on wildlife throughout the Rocky Mountains and the interior western United States.
State and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations are increasingly consumed with the recovery and restoration of native trout and salmon throughout the western United States. Almost all of the native inland cutthroat species, grayling and bull trout have been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act and a number are currently listed as “Threatened”.
Trout, grayling, and char historically inhabited a variety of freshwater habitats (streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, reservoirs), but have declined due to habitat degradation, fragmentation, and introductions of nonnative species. The remaining intact populations of native trout, char, and grayling species are largely restricted to small, fragmented headwater habitats. Recent localized extinction of these small populations caused by wildfires and subsequent floods have highlighted their vulnerability.
Complicating these issues is global warming and associated climate change, which are likely to increase air and water temperatures, increase the risk of catastrophic fire, change the timing and quantity of water from snowpack, increase winter flooding in some areas, and provide habitat conditions that favor introduced species. Understanding how effects of climate change will influence habitat for native fish is critical for effective management and recovery of these species.
NOROCK fisheries researchers and project collaborators from USGS, US Forest Service, and Trout Unlimited are studying how global warming and associated climate change may drive landscape scale impacts that affect the fresh water habitats of key native fish species. Specific research questions the team will explore include:
By developing these types of forecasting tools, researchers can assist wildlife managers in predicting potential climate change induced impacts on various fish species throughout the Rocky Mountains and the interior western United States.
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 the northern Rocky Mountains, ungulates are managed by state and federal agencies and funding of management programs are supported by the sale of hunting licenses and other tourism related activities such as fishing licenses and camp ground fees. Thus, impacts of climate change can not only directly impact ungulate species, but also the ability of managers to promote conservation through hunting and tourism; a direct hit on the economies of many western states.
NOROCK scientists and collaborating scientists from the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit at the University of Wyoming, the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Data Center, Penn State University, and Humboldt State University, will study how global climate change may impact ungulate species. Scientists 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.
Key research questions that will be examined include:
Outputs of the project include datasets and models which will be made available to federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies, as well as to scientist at universities and non-governmental organizations and useful for other researchers and wildlife managers. Datasets and models include:
The long term goal of the project is to provide the tools for natural resource managers to facilitate a better, science-based understanding of how climate change can impact various ungulate species within the region.
Through both projects, USGS scientists and their partners will address important issues surrounding how global climate change may impact ecosystems throughout the northern Rocky Mountains. Sound science will enable natural resource managers to be better prepared when addressing management issues surrounding regional wildlife habitat and population changes associated with global climate change. For information specific to each project, please contact:
Fish | Ungulates | ||
Jeff Kershner |
Paul Cross (406)994-6908 pcross@usgs.gov |
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Clint Muhlfeld (406)888-7926 cmuhlfeld@usgs.gov |
Geneva Chong (307)733-9212 X226 geneva_chong@usgs.gov |
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Bob Gresswell (406)994-7085 bgresswell@usgs.gov |