The Anthropause: How is it impacting wildlife?

By Richard B. Primack

“I have been sick for so long that I have almost forgotten what it is to be well.”  -Henry David Thoreau in his correspondence. 

In a recent article in CNN World, journalist Caitlin Hu poses the question, “Can nature heal itself? What the pandemic has shown us.”

In many places during the time of the pandemic lockdown, wildlife have become more active and widespread due to reduced human activity. However, at other locations, poaching levels have increased due to reduced enforcement and the need for rural people to find sources of income.  A major concern is also what will happen to national parks and the ecotourism industry now that revenues have declined precipitously.  

The pandemic lockdown offers an unprecedented opportunity to determine how reduced human activity affects conservation efforts. In particular, this will help us evaluate the effectiveness of conservation management and might suggest new management strategies once the pandemic is over.   

How will the pandemic affect the abundance and management of wildlife, such as this brown bear?
(Photo by Robert F. Tobler, Source Wikimedia Commons, license CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Springs are hotspots of biodiversity, but vulnerable to climate change

By Tara K. Miller

 

Springs are important ecosystems to support biodiversity. They are fed by groundwater and maintain more stable temperature and water conditions throughout the year than the surrounding landscape. These factors support a wide variety of plant species. However, springs are isolated – aquatic islands in a terrestrial landscape – which makes it harder for plants to disperse and move to find more suitable conditions as the climate changes.

As climate change progresses, the Subarctic mainland of Norway is expected to experience increased temperatures and precipitation, thus changing the suitability of spring habitats for different plant species.

A spring in Kvannfjellet in Balsfjord county, Norway.
Photo credit: Jutta Kapfer.

We expect that the species composition of plant communities in springs will change due to climate change. In order to measure the extent of the effects of climate change on these communities and to predict future risk, it is important to study which species are currently present in springs, and which conditions support the presence of different species. We recorded which species were present at 49 spring sites in northern Norway. We also recorded the conditions at the springs, including water quality conditions (water temperature, pH, and the pace of the water flowing from the spring), climatic conditions (air temperature and precipitation), and the spatial location of the spring (altitude and geographical coordinates).

A spring in Bentsjordskaret in Tromsø county, Norway, with Tara recording species data.
Photo credit: Jutta Kapfer.

We found that both climatic and water quality conditions were important for determining which species were present in which springs, indicating that as these conditions change with climate change, species may be forced to move to new springs with suitable conditions, or their numbers may decline.

Altitude was also important in determining where species were present. Therefore, altitude may be a limiting factor for plant species in adapting to climate change. For example, if a species is already located at the highest-altitude spring location or if there are no suitable spring sites located at nearby higher altitudes, it may be unable to disperse and migrate to a new, suitable habitat.

Identifying moss species requires a close look under the microscope

Our research gives us a new understanding of the conditions that are important for supporting the presence of different species in Subarctic springs.

Read the full paper here: PDF