Webinar: A Framework to Identify Climate–Related Shifts and Refugia for Desert Reptiles
Channel: Conservation and Adaptation Resources Toolbox
Date: 2014-11-03

Title: A Framework to Identify Climate–Related Shifts and Refugia for Desert Reptiles

Presenter: Cameron W. Barrows, PhD, Associate Research Ecologist, Center for Conservation Biology

Date: October 15th, 2014 at 11 am MST

Abstract:
For the sub-arctic, temperate USA, some of the greatest climate change related departures from current conditions are predicted to occur in the desert southwest. This region is getting warmer and drier; modeling and then documenting species’ responses to those climate shifts can identify management options to stem losses to biodiversity. Here I describe a monitoring framework developed by a National Park Service and UC Riverside team, focusing on Joshua Tree National Park, to achieve that objective. A first step is to identify which species to monitor; which species will provide the greatest information for discerning the effects of climate change versus the myriad of other stressors that may impact their distributions and abundance. One tool, vulnerability assessments (VAs), uses available scientific literature to assess exposure to environmental stressors and adaptive capacity or resilience to climate change. Another approach is habitat suitability modeling (HSM) coupled with simulated temperature shifts. This method statistically combines environmental variables at known species’ locations, such as climate and terrain, to model the complex interaction of factors that constrain a species’ distribution. All other variables held constant, simulated temperature shifts can identify species’ sensitivities to those shifts and identify potential refugia. Those refugia have the highest conservation value and should be the focus of protection and management efforts. A challenge in developing a monitoring program to document the effects of climate change on biodiversity is program sustainability. One way to support and enhance the sustainability of such a program will be to couple trained biologists with volunteer citizen scientists.

About the Presenter:

Title: Associate Research Ecologist, Center for Conservation Biology

Address: University of California at Riverside, Palm Desert Campus, 75080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Room 228, Palm Desert, California 92211

Phone #: (760) 834-0594 
e-mail: cbarrows@ucr.edu

Appointments:
2006 – Present: Associate Research Ecologist, U.C. Riverside’s Center for Conservation Biology University of California at Riverside 

2008 – Present: Adjunct Faculty, College of the Desert, Palm Desert California, since 2008, teaching Introduction to Wildlife Management and Introduction to Ecosystem Management in the Department of Natural Resources

2011 – Present: Adjunct Faculty, Green Mountain College, Vermont. Thesis Advisor

1986 – 2005: Director of the Coachella Valley Preserve for The Nature Conservancy and the Center for Natural Lands Management.

1991 – 1996: Southern California Regional Manager, The Nature Conservancy

1980 – 1985: Manager of the Northern California Coast Range Preserve (now the University of California’s Angelo Reserve), The Nature Conservancy


Research Focus:
My research has focused on understanding the impacts of Global Change, in all its manifestations, on the persistence of biodiversity in arid environments. Topics I have addressed to date include:

•        The development of effective monitoring frameworks to assess the response of species/populations/communities to anthropogenic stressors and separate those impacts from responses to stochastic resource fluctuations.
•        Modeling projected impacts from climate change
•        Impacts of invasive species
•        Impacts of habitat fragmentation and urban-wildland interfaces

In addition to these topics I am keenly interested in improving science literacy among students and the public at large, through teaching, public lectures, and involving students and the public as citizen scientists.

Related publications:
Barrows et al., 2014, Journal of Arid Environments, Patterns of Lizard Species Richness Within National Parks and Biosphere Reserves Across North America's Deserts
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140196313000621

Barrows et al, 2012, Biological Conservation, Modeling Impacts of Climate Change on Joshua Trees at their Southern Boundary: How Scale Impacts Predictions 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320712001711

Barrows et al., 2014, Biodiversity and Conservation, Designing a Sustainable Monitoring Framework for Assessing Impacts of Climate Change at Joshua Tree National Park, USA
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-014-0779-2