Title: Study to look at effects of climate change on wildlife - Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Headings: Study to look at effects of climate change on wildlife
Study to look at effects of climate change on wildlife
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Content: Researchers plan to survey animals in Death Valley National Park to learn how bird, small mammal, reptile, and amphibian populations have changed over the last century. Between 1908 and 1945, Professor Joseph Grinnell and his colleagues at UC Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology collected animal specimens and recorded locations of animal populations. That research now provides a valuable baseline to be able to understand if there have been changes over time. Scientists from UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, the San Diego Natural History Museum, and the University of New Mexico will survey the same sites in Death Valley that Professor Grinnell's team studied over 70 years ago. By comparing historic and modern animal populations in Death Valley National Park, the project will be able to examine how rapid recent warming influences the geographic ranges of animal species, their diets, and their morphology. This is an unparalleled opportunity to learn how our changing climate has affected wildlife of Death Valley National Park. This information will also provide a new benchmark for comparison of future changes. UC Berkeley research completed similar research in Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Lassen Volcanic National Parks. The re-survey of wildlife in these mountainous national parks revealed many changes in the distributions of mammals and birds after nearly 100 years. In Yosemite, where night-time temperature has increased by 5.4°F (3°C), half of the small mammal species showed significant changes in range, with an average upwards shift of approximately 1,640 feet (500 m) in elevation.