Effects of Climate Change on Habitat Availability and Configuration for an Endemic Coastal Alpine Bird.

ABSTRACT: North America's coastal mountains are particularly vulnerable to climate change, yet harbour a number of endemic species. With little room "at the top" to track shifting climate envelopes, alpine species may be especially negatively affected by climate-induced habitat fragmentation. We ask how climate change will affect the total amount, mean patch size, and number of patches of suitable habitat for Vancouver Island White-tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura saxatilis; VIWTP), a threatened, endemic alpine bird. Using a Random Forest model and a unique dataset consisting of citizen science observations combined with field surveys, we predict the distribution and configuration of potential suitable summer habitat for VIWTP under baseline and future (2020s, 2050s, and 2080s) climates using three

SUBMITTER: Jackson MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4631505 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature