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Science questions for implementing climate refugia for salmon as a conservation strategy
Citation:
Ebersole, Joe. Science questions for implementing climate refugia for salmon as a conservation strategy. Oregon State University Stream Team SeminarSeries, Corvallis, OR, November 03, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
The recognition and protection of climate refugia has been proposed as a potential adaptation strategy that may be useful for protecting watershed integrity under a changing climate. Climate refugia are areas that are buffered from climate change effects relative to other areas so as to favor greater persistence of valued social, physical, and ecological resources. In the past, refugia allowed species to persist through prior periods of climate change, even as surrounding regions became unsuitable. Now managers are asking how refugia might help species persist under future climates. The potential effectiveness of climate refugia as a climate adaptation strategy has several critical uncertainties, including: What physical processes create and maintain refugia? How are these projected to change given climate projections? Given that paleo-refugia functioned in the absence of a significant human footprint, how will climate change and other human-caused stressors interact to limit refugia effectiveness in the future? In addition to these key uncertainties, other questions remain as to how the concept of climate refugia might be effectively implemented: Are current data sufficient to help inform the identification of potential refugia? What are implications monitoring, and for developing water quality criteria and standards? The format for this seminar series allows for open dialogue and discussion among a diverse set of university, state, and federal researchers. In this presentation and discussion to follow, we will present these questions and seek feedback to explore options for effective research on the potential application of climate refugia as an adaptation strategy. Outcomes of this discussion may help inform future research by EPA and partners.
Description:
The recognition and protection of climate refugia has been proposed as a potential adaptation strategy that may be useful for protecting the biotic integrity of watersheds under a changing climate. Climate refugia are areas that are buffered from climate change effects relative to other areas so as to favor greater persistence of valued social, physical, and ecological resources. Paleo-ecological evidence suggests that refugia allowed species to persist through prior periods of climate change, even as surrounding regions became unsuitable. Now managers are asking how refugia might help species persist under future climates. The potential effectiveness of climate refugia as a climate adaptation strategy has several critical uncertainties, including: What physical processes create and maintain refugia? How are these projected to change given climate projections? At what spatial scales must these drivers be considered to maintain species within refugia? Given that paleo-refugia functioned in the absence of a significant human footprint, how will climate change and other anthropogenic stressors interact to constrain refugia effectiveness in the future? In addition to these key uncertainties, other questions remain as to how the concept of climate refugia might be effectively implemented: Are current data (including national aquatic assessments) sufficient to help inform the identification of potential refugia? Are current best-condition ‘reference sites’ at risk from climate change, limiting their potential utility as refugia sentinels and endangering future detection of status and trends? What are implications for developing water quality criteria and standards? In this presentation and discussion to follow, we will present these questions and explore options for effective research on the potential application of climate refugia as an adaptation strategy.