Shawn Carter is the Senior Scientist for the USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center.
Shawn is the Senior Scientist of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Climate Adaptation Science Center, headquartered in Reston, VA. Shawn has degrees from Cornell, Virginia Tech, and SUNY-ESF and his research interests include: ecological monitoring and assessment, forest ecology, and species-habitat relationships.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. in Forest Ecology, The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF)
M.S. in Wildlife Ecology, Virginia Tech
B.S. in Environmental Studies, Cornell University
Science and Products
Understanding Changing Climate Variables to Clarify Species’ Exposure and Responses to Changing Environments across North America
Understanding Species' Range Shifts in Response to Climate Change: Results from a Systematic National Review
Webinar: What is Ecological Drought? Exploring Its Impacts on Natural and Cultural Resources
Ecological Drought: Assessing Vulnerability and Developing Solutions for People and Nature
Understanding the Ecological Impacts of Drought Across the U.S.: Regional Workshops and National Synthesis
Webinar: Providing the Science for Natural and Cultural Resource Adaptation to Climate Change
Climate change and the global redistribution of biodiversity: Substantial variation in empirical support for expected range shifts
Unfamiliar territory: Emerging themes for ecological drought research and management
Do empirical observations support commonly-held climate change range shift hypotheses? A systematic review protocol
Planning for ecological drought: Integrating ecosystem services and vulnerability assessment
Hypotheses from recent assessments of climate impacts to biodiversity and ecosystems in the United States
Ecosystems, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity
Defining ecological drought for the 21st century
USGS integrated drought science
Summarizing components of U.S. Department of the Interior vulnerability assessments to focus climate adaptation planning
Climate-change impacts on ecological systems: Introduction to a US assessment
Biodiversity in a changing climate: a synthesis of current and projected trends in the US
Impacts of climate change on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services: technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Ecological Drought Across the Country
Learn about how the Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been exploring the topic of ecological drought across the country.
Science and Products
- Science
Understanding Changing Climate Variables to Clarify Species’ Exposure and Responses to Changing Environments across North America
Species across North America are being impacted by changing climate conditions. Plants and animals can respond to these changes in a variety of ways, including by shifting their geographic distributions. Determining whether or not observed biological changes, such as range shifts, are indeed the result of climate change is a key challenge facing natural resource managers and requires clarifying whUnderstanding Species' Range Shifts in Response to Climate Change: Results from a Systematic National Review
Climate change represents one of the foremost drivers of ecological change, yet its documented impacts on biodiversity remain uncertain and complex. Although there have been many published studies on species shifting their geographic ranges in response to climate change, it is still challenging to identify the specific mechanisms and conditions that facilitate range shifts in some species and notWebinar: What is Ecological Drought? Exploring Its Impacts on Natural and Cultural Resources
View this webinar to learn how scientists are working to identify the ecological impacts of drought.Ecological Drought: Assessing Vulnerability and Developing Solutions for People and Nature
As global temperatures continue to rise, the frequency and severity of droughts in North America are expected to increase, leading to a wide range of social and ecological impacts. Identifying these impacts and the consequences for ecosystems and human communities are essential for effective drought management. Equally important is to improve the capacity of nature and people to prepare for and coUnderstanding the Ecological Impacts of Drought Across the U.S.: Regional Workshops and National Synthesis
Climate change is expected to increase the intensity and frequency of drought in the U.S., leading to potentially harmful ecological impacts. The uncertain and relatively rapid changes to precipitation patterns pose a significant challenge to managers and decision-makers. In addition to having negative social and economic implications, long periods without rainfall can alter ecosystems, thereby thWebinar: Providing the Science for Natural and Cultural Resource Adaptation to Climate Change
View this webinar to learn more about the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (formerly named the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center and the regional Climate Science Centers). - Multimedia
- Publications
Climate change and the global redistribution of biodiversity: Substantial variation in empirical support for expected range shifts
BackgroundAmong the most widely predicted climate change-related impacts to biodiversity are geographic range shifts, whereby species shift their spatial distribution to track their climate niches. A series of commonly articulated hypotheses have emerged in the scientific literature suggesting species are expected to shift their distributions to higher latitudes, greater elevations, and deeper depAuthorsMadeleine A. Rubenstein, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Romain Bertrand, Shawn Carter, Lise Comte, Mitchell Eaton, Ciara G. Johnson, Jonathan Lenoir, Abigail Lynch, Brian W. Miller, Toni Lyn Morelli, Mari Angel Rodriguez, Adam Terando, Laura ThompsonUnfamiliar territory: Emerging themes for ecological drought research and management
Novel forms of drought are emerging globally, due to climate change, shifting teleconnection patterns, expanding human water use, and a history of human influence on the environment that increases the probability of transformational ecological impacts. These costly ecological impacts cascade to human communities, and understanding this changing drought landscape is one of today’s grand challenges.AuthorsShelley D. Crausbay, Julio L. Betancourt, John B. Bradford, Jennifer M. Cartwright, William C. Dennison, Jason B. Dunham, Carolyn Armstrong Enquist, Abby G. Frazier, Kimberly R. Hall, Jeremy S. Littell, Charlie H. Luce, Richard Palmer, Aaron R. Ramirez, Imtiaz Rangwala, Laura Thompson, Brianne M. Walsh, Shawn CarterDo 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 latitudes, greater elevations, and deeper depths in responAuthorsMadeleine A. Rubenstein, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Shawn Carter, Mitchell Eaton, Ciara Johnson, Abigail Lynch, Brian W. Miller, Toni Lyn Morelli, Mari Angel Rodriguez, Adam Terando, Laura ThompsonPlanning for ecological drought: Integrating ecosystem services and vulnerability assessment
As research recognizes the importance of ecological impacts of drought to natural and human communities, drought planning processes need to better incorporate ecological impacts. Drought planning currently recognizes the vulnerability of some ecological impacts from drought (e.g., loss of instream flow affecting fish populations). However, planning often does not identify all the ecological aspectAuthorsNejem Raheem, Amanda E. Cravens, Molly S. Cross, Shelley D. Crausbay, Aaron R. Ramirez, Jamie McEvoy, Dionne Zoanni, Deborah J. Bathke, Michael Hayes, Shawn Carter, Madeleine Rubenstein, Ann Schwend, Kimberly R. Hall, Paul SuberuHypotheses from recent assessments of climate impacts to biodiversity and ecosystems in the United States
Climate change poses multiple threats to biodiversity, and has already caused demonstrable impacts. We summarize key results from a recent national assessment of observed climate change impacts to terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems in the United States, and place results in the context of commonly articulated hypotheses about ecosystem response to climate change for global implicationsAuthorsShawn L. Carter, Abigail Lynch, Bonnie Myers, Madeleine A. Rubenstein, Laura M. ThompsonEcosystems, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity
Biodiversity—the variety of life on Earth—provides vital services that support and improve human health and well-being. Ecosystems, which are composed of living things that interact with the physical environment, provide numerous essential benefits to people. These benefits, termed ecosystem services, encompass four primary functions: provisioning materials, such as food and fiber; regulating critAuthorsDouglas Lipton, Madeleine A. Rubenstein, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Shawn L. Carter, Jay Peterson, Lisa Crozier, Michael Fogarty, Sarah Gaichas, Kimberly J. W. Hyde, Toni Lyn Morelli, Jeffrey Morisette, Hassan Moustahfid, Roldan Munoz, Rajendra Poudel, Michelle D. Staudinger, Charles Stock, Laura Thompson, Robin S. Waples, Jake WeltzinDefining ecological drought for the 21st century
No abstract available.AuthorsShelley D. Crausbay, Aaron R. Ramirez, Shawn L. Carter, Molly S. Cross, Kimberly R. Hall, Deborah J. Bathke, Julio L. Betancourt, Steve Colt, Amanda E. Cravens, Melinda S. Dalton, Jason B. Dunham, Lauren E. Hay, Michael J. Hayes, Jamie McEvoy, Chad A. McNutt, Max A. Moritz, Keith H. Nislow, Nejem Raheem, Todd SanfordUSGS integrated drought science
Project Need and OverviewDrought poses a serious threat to the resilience of human communities and ecosystems in the United States (Easterling and others, 2000). Over the past several years, many regions have experienced extreme drought conditions, fueled by prolonged periods of reduced precipitation and exceptionally warm temperatures. Extreme drought has far-reaching impacts on water supplies, eAuthorsAndrea C. Ostroff, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Patrick M. Lambert, Nathaniel L. Booth, Shawn L. Carter, Jason M. Stoker, Michael J. FocazioSummarizing components of U.S. Department of the Interior vulnerability assessments to focus climate adaptation planning
A secretarial order identified climate adaptation as a critical performance objective for future management of U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) lands and resources in response to global change. Vulnerability assessments can inform climate adaptation planning by providing insight into what natural resources are most at risk and why. Three components of vulnerability—exposure, sensitivity, andAuthorsLaura M. Thompson, Michelle D. Staudinger, Shawn L. CarterClimate-change impacts on ecological systems: Introduction to a US assessment
As part of the 2014 US National Climate Assessment, over 60 subject‐matter experts from government agencies, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector assessed the current and projected impacts of climate change on ecosystems, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Here, we introduce and provide context for the papers included in this Special Issue, drawing upon the key findinAuthorsNancy B. Grimm, Michelle D Staudinger, Amanda Staudt, Shawn L. Carter, F. Stuart Chapin, Peter Kareiva, Mary Ruckelshaus, Bruce A. SteinBiodiversity in a changing climate: a synthesis of current and projected trends in the US
This paper provides a synthesis of the recent literature describing how global biodiversity is being affected by climate change and is projected to respond in the future. Current studies reinforce earlier findings of major climate-change-related impacts on biological systems and document new, more subtle after-effects. For example, many species are shifting their distributions and phenologies at fAuthorsMichelle D. Staudinger, Shawn L. Carter, Molly S. Cross, Natalie S. Dubois, J. Emmett Duffy, Carolyn Enquist, Roger Griffis, Jessica J. Hellmann, Joshua J. Lawler, John O’Leary, Scott A. Morrison, Lesley Sneddon, Bruce A. Stein, Laura M. Thompson, Woody TurnerImpacts of climate change on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services: technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment
Ecosystems, and the biodiversity and services they support, are intrinsically dependent on climate. During the twentieth century, climate change has had documented impacts on ecological systems, and impacts are expected to increase as climate change continues and perhaps even accelerates. This technical input to the National Climate Assessment synthesizes our scientific understanding of the way clAuthorsMichelle D. Staudinger, Nancy B. Grimm, Amanda Staudt, Shawn L. Carter, F. Stuart Stuart, Peter Kareiva, Mary Ruckelshaus, Bruce A. SteinNon-USGS Publications**
Grimm NB, Staudinger MD, Staudt A, Carter SL, Chapin III FS, Kareiva P, Ruckelshaus M, Stein BA. 2013. Climate-change impacts on ecological systems: Introduction to a US assessment. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment DOI: 10.1890/120310.Lookingbill TR, Schmit JP, Carter SL. 2012. GRTS and Graphs: Monitoring Natural Resources in Urban Landscapes, in Gitzen et al. (eds). Design and Analysis of Long-term Ecological Monitoring Studies. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY.Fancy SG, Gross JE, Carter SL. 2009. Monitoring the Condition of Natural Resources in U.S. National Parks. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 151:161-174.Lookingbill, TR, Gardner RH, Townsend PA, Carter SL. 2007. Conceptual models as hypotheses for adaptive monitoring of urban landscapes. Environmental Management 40:171-182.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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Ecological Drought Across the Country
Learn about how the Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been exploring the topic of ecological drought across the country.