Climate Adaptation Science Centers
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From the expansion of invasive species to wildfire, from drought to sea-level rise, changes in climate have created new and evolving challenges for our nation’s resource managers and communities. Our science helps managers of fish, wildlife, and ecosystems understand these impacts and strategically adapt to changing conditions.
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The CASCs develop data and tools that address the informational needs of natural and cultural resource managers. Projects cover topics that address the impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, ecosystems, & the communities they support.
Project ExplorerThe Regional CASCs
Our network is comprised of the National CASC and eight regional CASCs, covering the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. Learn more about each CASC here.
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Our Climate Adaptation Insights Newsletter shares our latest news on webinars, events, publications, funding opportunities, and other items of interest from the National and Regional CASCs. Updates are sent out every two weeks.
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New Study Highlights Findings and Predictions for Juneau Glacial Outburst Flood
A new paper in Frontiers in Earth Science explores the evolving dynamics of Suicide Basin, a glacier-dammed lake in Juneau that releases annual outburst floods, causing inundation and erosion in the Mendenhall Valley.
Climate-Change Refugia Special Issue: Buying Time for Biodiversity to Adapt in a Changing World
A special issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, organized by Northeast CASC Research Ecologist Toni Lyn Morelli, highlights a range of topics related to climate-change refugia. Refugia, or areas that are relatively buffered from changes in climate, can shelter wildlife, ecosystems, and other natural resources as temperatures and precipitation patterns change.
Job Opportunity: NCASC "Scientific Programmer/Data Analyst (Fisheries)" Position
The National CASC is seeking to hire a student or recent graduate to assist in the compilation, summarization, and management of national and global datasets that will be used to analyze threats to fishery resources. This position will be coordinated with USGS Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) which provides critical data, services, and capabilities to USGS, DOI, and other organizations....
Publications
Do empirical observations support commonly-held climate change range shift hypotheses? A systematic review protocol
Background Among the most widely anticipated climate-related impacts to biodiversity are geographic range shifts, whereby species shift their spatial distribution in response to changing climate conditions. In particular, a series of commonly articulated hypotheses have emerged: species are expected to shift their distributions to higher...
Rubenstein, Madeleine A.; Weiskopf, Sarah R.; Carter, Shawn; Eaton, Mitchell; Johnson, Ciara; Lynch, Abigail; Miller, Brian W.; Morelli, Toni Lyn; Rodriguez, Mari Angel; Terando, Adam; Thompson, Laura Climate change effects on biodiversity, ecosystems, ecosystem services, and natural resource management in the United States
Climate change is a pervasive and growing global threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. Here, we present the most up-to-date assessment of climate change impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services in the U.S. and implications for natural resource management. We draw from the 4th National Climate Assessment to summarize observed...
Weiskopf, Sarah R.; Rubenstein, Madeleine A.; Crozier, Lisa; Gaichas, Sarah; Griffis, Roger; Halofsky, Jessica E.; Hyde, Kimberly J. W.; Morelli, Toni Lyn; Morisette, Jeffrey T.; Muñoz, Roldan C.; Pershing, Andrew J.; Peterson, David L.; Poudel, Rajendra; Staudinger, Michelle D.; Sutton-Grier, Ariana E.; Thompson, Laura; Vose, James; Weltzin, Jake F.; Whyte, Kyle Powys Bending the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss: An emergency recovery plan
Despite their limited spatial extent, freshwater ecosystems host remarkable biodiversity, including one-third of all vertebrate species. This biodiversity is declining dramatically: Globally, wetlands are vanishing three times faster than forests, and freshwater vertebrate populations have fallen more than twice as steeply as terrestrial or marine...
Tickner, David ; Opperman, Jeff ; Abell, Robin ; Acreman, Mike ; Arthington, Angela ; Bunn, Stuart E. ; Cooke, Steven J. ; Darwall, Will ; Edwards, Gavin ; Harrison, Ian ; Hughes, Kathy ; Jones, Tim ; Leclere, David ; Lynch, Abigail; Leonard, Philip ; McClain, Mike ; McIntyre, Pete ; Muruven, Dean ; Olden, Julian D. ; Ormerod, Steve ; Robinson, James ; Tharme, Rebecca ; Thieme, Michele ; Tockner, Klement ; Wright, Mark ; Young, Lucy