Future-oriented wildlife management in the Pike-San Isabel and Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests under a warming climate: Anticipating change and facing uncertainties with a focus on avian species (Chapter 6)

Abstract

Climate change has impacted terrestrial, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems across the globe changing disease dynamics, disturbance regimes, and nutrient cycling, resulting in the degradation of key ecosystem services (Cooley et al. 2022; Parmesan et al. 2022). Birds provide a diverse array of ecosystem services, including pest control, pollination, seed dispersal, and nutrient cycling (Sekercioğlu et al. 2004, 2006), and are of conservation concern due to human impacts on avian diversity and abundance (Gaston et al. 2003; Jetz et al. 2007; Rosenburg et al. 2019). Relative to other taxa, birds are predicted to be less vulnerable to climate change due to their vagility and ability to shift their range and phenology in response to environmental changes (Pacifici et al. 2017; Siegel et al. 2014; Tingley et al. 2009); however, a species’ ability to adapt can vary significantly with cascading impacts on communities. For example, avian range shifts can result in new species interactions and vulnerabilities that may have consequences for ecosystem function and stability (Weiskopf et al. 2020).

Parent Publication

• Colorado Front Range climate change vulnerability assessment for National Forests

Citation

White, Angela M. 2024. Future-oriented wildlife management in the Pike-San Isabel and Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests under a warming climate: Anticipating change and facing uncertainties with a focus on avian species (Chapter 6). In: Hanberry, Brice B., ed. Colorado Front Range climate change vulnerability assessment for National Forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-438. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 245-279.