Already learning lots from a #NACCB2020 session on climate change refugia - aka places that remain relatively buffered from climate change - led by @StralbergDiana

@NACCB2020
@Society4ConBio
@SCBNorthAmerica
image: Morelli et al. 2016 PLOS ONE

Toni Lyn Morelli @RefugiaResearch @USGS explaining that identifying/conserving these places across the U.S. is quite the process - but refugia conservation could be key to adapting to climate change

In the Northeast US, Toni Lyn Morelli @RefugiaResearch is focusing on coldwater systems as climate buffers

Up in Alberta, @StralbergDiana @UAlberta is researching different types of boreal refugia - "Large lakes buffer forest temperatures" and can act as fire breaks, she says

Climate refugia maps can be used to understand large-scale changes and might help ID specific priority areas, adds @StralbergDiana

Refugia research "shifts the focus from problems to solutions," she says - and looks to new opportunities

Disturbances -like fire- can help "overall ecosystem function," says @MegKrawchuk @OregonState - but refugia add to landscape heterogeneity and allow an area to "bounce back or bounce forward"

There's worry, though, that as disturbances grow more frequent and overlap (fire/insects, fire/drought) some of these disturbance refugias might be lost, says @MegKrawchuk - and that's bad for biodiversity

There's currently no refugia definition for seasonal wetlands, says Jennifer Cartwright @USGS

But with a mix of field research and machine learning, they're getting a better picture of which vernal pools and seasonal playa wetlands are most resilient

In the northern Great Basin, playas with dugout alterations seem to retain water better, says Jen Cartwright @USGS

But it's possible this has less to do with the dugouts themselves and more to do with natural systems - which ranchers have recognized and enhanced over time

Timothy Link & Kaitlyn Strickfaden @kstrickfaden1 @uidaho explain how they're identifying snow refugia by using remote sensing, snow modeling and remote cameras - with this they can figure out how terrain and vegetation affect snow drift/melt patterns and impact wildlife

Also some very cool tech! @kstrickfaden1 explains they're using virtual snow stakes and remote cameras to get measurable images without disrupting snow gathering or animal patterns w/ a physical stake

Do salmon in western freshwater systems really fare better in coldwater systems? Marcia Snyder @snydermn @EPA says the answer is pretty complex

Fish migration through coldwater refugia takes longer - and based on timing, fish can end up with higher or lower thermal exposure

We need to ask "refugia for what?" says Julia Michalak @JL_Michalak @UW - A mix of metrics/approaches can be used to better understand which species find refuge in which terrains & where climate will have heaviest impact

Staying species-focused is "an important next step for refugia research," says @JL_Michalak

There are going to be places that we think meet the refugia criteria "that just don't make it," she says, and don't have the impact anticipated

#NACCB2020 #climaterefugia