Consider ways that changing climates are affecting wildlife and effects we can anticipate as climate change continues.

Watch a recording of this presentation on Youtube: https://youtu.be/KETTzZnvC4Q

Changing climates impact wildlife in diverse ways that we are struggling to understand. Some climatic changes are gradual, causing species to shift their ranges, activity patterns, or migration behavior. Other climatic changes are volatile, which can cause population extinctions. For many species, climate impacts are compounded by changes in other factors, such as habitat quality, quantity, and connectivity. This presentation will consider ways that changing climates are affecting wildlife now and effects we can anticipate as climate change continues. Examples include diverse butterflies, bees, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals. It will conclude with ways we can help mitigate climate impacts, on individual and societal levels, to allow many wildlife to endure into a climate-altered future.

John McLaughlin is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Sciences Department at Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University. His teaching and research interests center on population ecology, wildlife ecology, and conservation biology. He gives special attention to helping students understand their connections to wild places in their backyards or remote environs, including student-designed research projects. His research interests include carnivore-habitat relationships, dynamics of animal populations, predator-prey interactions, and wildlife conservation. Ongoing research projects include butterfly responses to climate change and wildlife roles in Elwha River restoration following dam removal. He completed a Ph.D. and M.S. in biological sciences at Stanford University. He earned a triple undergraduate degree at Northwestern University.


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