Envisioning the future of wildlife in a changing climate: Collaborative learning for adaptation planning

Wildlife Society Bulletin
By: , and 

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Abstract

Natural resource managers are tasked with assessing the impacts of climate change on conservation targets and developing adaptation strategies to meet agency goals. The complex, transboundary nature of climate change demands the collaboration of scientists, managers, and stakeholders in this effort. To share, integrate, and apply knowledge from these diverse perspectives, we must engage in social learning. In 2009, we initiated a process to engage university researchers and agency scientists and managers in collaborative learning to assess the impacts of climate change on terrestrial fauna in the state of Wisconsin, USA. We constructed conceptual Bayesian networks to depict the influence of climate change, key biotic and abiotic factors, and existing stressors on the distribution and abundance of 3 species: greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus), and Karner blue butterfly (Plebejus melissa samuelis). For each species, we completed a 2-stage expert review that elicited dialogue on information gaps, management opportunities, and research priorities. From our experience, collaborative network modeling proved to be a powerful tool to develop a common vision of the potential impacts of climate change on conservation targets.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Envisioning the future of wildlife in a changing climate: Collaborative learning for adaptation planning
Series title Wildlife Society Bulletin
DOI 10.1002/wsb.62
Volume 35
Issue 4
Year Published 2011
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Leetown
Description 6 p.
First page 508
Last page 513
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