Reconstructing Vegetation and Climate Histories on Palmyra Atoll to Assist with Climate-Smart Adaptation
Active
By Climate Adaptation Science Centers
December 31, 2023
Project Overview
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a critical nesting site for seabirds in the central Pacific Ocean, with ecosystems that are regularly impacted by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project aim to understand how past ENSO-driven climate variability and human activities have affected vegetation and wildlife. They will analyze sediment cores to reconstruct climate and ecosystem histories and provide data to guide climate-smart management and restoration efforts for Palmyra Atoll NWR. Understanding relationships between climate variability and plant communities and other wildlife can help managers better prepare for ongoing climate change.
Project Summary
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, on a remote tropical island in the central Pacific Ocean, is home to many seabirds and shorebirds, marine mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, marine life, and flora. It is the only seabird nesting ground within 450,000 square miles, with some of the largest stands of Pisonia grandis forest – important forests for seabird nesting-- and a variety of native ferns and shrubs. The location makes it ideal for studying the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a climate pattern driven by changes in sea surface temperatures that impacts local and global climates and plant communities. Human activity on the island since the arrival of Polynesians and later Europeans has also significantly affected plant communities with negative consequences for other wildlife, including sea and shorebirds.
This project seeks to understand how ENSO and human activities have historically influenced the climate and ecosystems of Palmyra Atoll. The researchers will collect a sediment core from Palmyra’s west lagoon, where sediment accumulates at a rate of ~0.5 cm per year. Analyzing pollen grains, fossil shells, stable isotopes and biomarkers, together with radiocarbon dating the layers of the sediment core, will allow researchers to reconstruct sea surface temperatures, as well as changes to local vegetation and bird populations that predate human arrival.
The project team will produce high-resolution and publicly available data on past ENSO events and ecosystem changes that span decades to millennia. This information will provide key insights into how past climate variability has affected Palmyra’s ecosystems and plant communities, guiding climate-smart management and restoration planning for Palmyra and other regional national wildlife refuges.
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a critical nesting site for seabirds in the central Pacific Ocean, with ecosystems that are regularly impacted by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project aim to understand how past ENSO-driven climate variability and human activities have affected vegetation and wildlife. They will analyze sediment cores to reconstruct climate and ecosystem histories and provide data to guide climate-smart management and restoration efforts for Palmyra Atoll NWR. Understanding relationships between climate variability and plant communities and other wildlife can help managers better prepare for ongoing climate change.
Project Summary
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, on a remote tropical island in the central Pacific Ocean, is home to many seabirds and shorebirds, marine mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, marine life, and flora. It is the only seabird nesting ground within 450,000 square miles, with some of the largest stands of Pisonia grandis forest – important forests for seabird nesting-- and a variety of native ferns and shrubs. The location makes it ideal for studying the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a climate pattern driven by changes in sea surface temperatures that impacts local and global climates and plant communities. Human activity on the island since the arrival of Polynesians and later Europeans has also significantly affected plant communities with negative consequences for other wildlife, including sea and shorebirds.
This project seeks to understand how ENSO and human activities have historically influenced the climate and ecosystems of Palmyra Atoll. The researchers will collect a sediment core from Palmyra’s west lagoon, where sediment accumulates at a rate of ~0.5 cm per year. Analyzing pollen grains, fossil shells, stable isotopes and biomarkers, together with radiocarbon dating the layers of the sediment core, will allow researchers to reconstruct sea surface temperatures, as well as changes to local vegetation and bird populations that predate human arrival.
The project team will produce high-resolution and publicly available data on past ENSO events and ecosystem changes that span decades to millennia. This information will provide key insights into how past climate variability has affected Palmyra’s ecosystems and plant communities, guiding climate-smart management and restoration planning for Palmyra and other regional national wildlife refuges.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 667daff9d34e67892486531a)
Project Overview
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a critical nesting site for seabirds in the central Pacific Ocean, with ecosystems that are regularly impacted by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project aim to understand how past ENSO-driven climate variability and human activities have affected vegetation and wildlife. They will analyze sediment cores to reconstruct climate and ecosystem histories and provide data to guide climate-smart management and restoration efforts for Palmyra Atoll NWR. Understanding relationships between climate variability and plant communities and other wildlife can help managers better prepare for ongoing climate change.
Project Summary
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, on a remote tropical island in the central Pacific Ocean, is home to many seabirds and shorebirds, marine mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, marine life, and flora. It is the only seabird nesting ground within 450,000 square miles, with some of the largest stands of Pisonia grandis forest – important forests for seabird nesting-- and a variety of native ferns and shrubs. The location makes it ideal for studying the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a climate pattern driven by changes in sea surface temperatures that impacts local and global climates and plant communities. Human activity on the island since the arrival of Polynesians and later Europeans has also significantly affected plant communities with negative consequences for other wildlife, including sea and shorebirds.
This project seeks to understand how ENSO and human activities have historically influenced the climate and ecosystems of Palmyra Atoll. The researchers will collect a sediment core from Palmyra’s west lagoon, where sediment accumulates at a rate of ~0.5 cm per year. Analyzing pollen grains, fossil shells, stable isotopes and biomarkers, together with radiocarbon dating the layers of the sediment core, will allow researchers to reconstruct sea surface temperatures, as well as changes to local vegetation and bird populations that predate human arrival.
The project team will produce high-resolution and publicly available data on past ENSO events and ecosystem changes that span decades to millennia. This information will provide key insights into how past climate variability has affected Palmyra’s ecosystems and plant communities, guiding climate-smart management and restoration planning for Palmyra and other regional national wildlife refuges.
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a critical nesting site for seabirds in the central Pacific Ocean, with ecosystems that are regularly impacted by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project aim to understand how past ENSO-driven climate variability and human activities have affected vegetation and wildlife. They will analyze sediment cores to reconstruct climate and ecosystem histories and provide data to guide climate-smart management and restoration efforts for Palmyra Atoll NWR. Understanding relationships between climate variability and plant communities and other wildlife can help managers better prepare for ongoing climate change.
Project Summary
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, on a remote tropical island in the central Pacific Ocean, is home to many seabirds and shorebirds, marine mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, marine life, and flora. It is the only seabird nesting ground within 450,000 square miles, with some of the largest stands of Pisonia grandis forest – important forests for seabird nesting-- and a variety of native ferns and shrubs. The location makes it ideal for studying the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a climate pattern driven by changes in sea surface temperatures that impacts local and global climates and plant communities. Human activity on the island since the arrival of Polynesians and later Europeans has also significantly affected plant communities with negative consequences for other wildlife, including sea and shorebirds.
This project seeks to understand how ENSO and human activities have historically influenced the climate and ecosystems of Palmyra Atoll. The researchers will collect a sediment core from Palmyra’s west lagoon, where sediment accumulates at a rate of ~0.5 cm per year. Analyzing pollen grains, fossil shells, stable isotopes and biomarkers, together with radiocarbon dating the layers of the sediment core, will allow researchers to reconstruct sea surface temperatures, as well as changes to local vegetation and bird populations that predate human arrival.
The project team will produce high-resolution and publicly available data on past ENSO events and ecosystem changes that span decades to millennia. This information will provide key insights into how past climate variability has affected Palmyra’s ecosystems and plant communities, guiding climate-smart management and restoration planning for Palmyra and other regional national wildlife refuges.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 667daff9d34e67892486531a)