Vulnerability of breeding waterbirds to climate change in the Prairie Pothole Region, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT: The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the north-central U.S. and south-central Canada contains millions of small prairie wetlands that provide critical habitat to many migrating and breeding waterbirds. Due to their small size and the relatively dry climate of the region, these wetlands are considered at high risk for negative climate change effects as temperatures increase. To estimate the potential impacts of climate change on breeding waterbirds, we predicted current and future distributions of species common in the PPR using species distribution models (SDMs). We created regional-scale SDMs for the U.S. PPR using Breeding Bird Survey occurrence records for 1971-2011 and wetland, upland, and climate variables. For each species, we predicted current distribution based on climate records fo

SUBMITTER: Steen V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4057080 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature