(Arcturus): Protecting Biodiversity Against the Effects of Climate Change Through the Endangered Species Act

Author(s):  
James Ming Chen
2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 1753-1768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A. Hare ◽  
John P. Manderson ◽  
Janet A. Nye ◽  
Michael A. Alexander ◽  
Peter J. Auster ◽  
...  

AbstractHare, J.A., Manderson, J.P., Nye, J.A., Alexander, M.A., Auster, P.J., Borggaard, D.L., Capotondi, A.M., Damon-Randall, K.B., Heupel, E., Mateo, I., O'Brien, L., Richardson, D.E., Stock, C.A., and Biege, S.T. 2012. Cusk (Brosme brosme) and climate change: assessing the threat to a candidate marine fish species under the US Endangered Species Act. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 1753–1768. In the Northwest Atlantic Ocean cusk (Brosme brosme) has declined dramatically, primarily as a result of fishing activities. These declines have led to concern about its status, which has prompted reviews under the US Endangered Species Act and the Canadian Species at Risk Act. Changes in distribution and abundance of a number of marine fish in the Northwest Atlantic have been linked to climate variability and change, suggesting that both fishing and climate may affect the status of cusk. Our goal was to evaluate potential effects of climate change on Northwest Atlantic cusk distribution. Coupling a species niche model with the output from an ensemble of climate models, we projected cusk distribution in the future. Our results indicate cusk habitat in the region will shrink and fragment, which is a result of a spatial mismatch between high complexity seafloor habitat and suitable temperature. The importance of habitat patch connectivity for cusk is poorly understood, so the population-level consequences of climate-related habitat fragmentation are uncertain. More broadly, climate change may reduce appropriate thermal habitat and increase habitat fragmentation for other cold-water species in the region; thereby, increasing the potential for regional overexploitation and extirpation.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimee Delach ◽  
Astrid Caldas ◽  
Kiel Edson ◽  
Robb Krehbiel ◽  
Sarah Murray ◽  
...  

AbstractDespite widespread evidence of climate change as a threat to biodiversity, it is unclear whether government policies and agencies are adequately addressing this threat to species1–4. We evaluate species sensitivity, a component of climate change vulnerability, and whether climate change is discussed as a threat in planning for climate-related management action in official documents from 1973-2018 for all 459 US animals listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. We find that 99.8% of species are sensitive to one or more of eight sensitivity factors, but agencies consider climate change as a threat to only 64% of species and plan management actions for only 18% of species. Agencies are more likely to plan actions for species sensitive to more factors, but such planning has declined since 2016. Results highlight the gap between climate change sensitivity and the attention from agencies charged with conserving endangered species.


2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1138-1146 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERIN E. SENEY ◽  
MELANIE J. ROWLAND ◽  
RUTH ANN LOWERY ◽  
ROGER B. GRIFFIS ◽  
MICHELLE M. McCLURE

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