Resource managers urgently need a means to identify which species and habitats are most vulnerable to climate change in order to direct resources where they will be most effective. In 2012, NatureServe was awarded a grant by the North Atlantic Landscape Cooperative (NALCC) to conduct vulnerability assessments of selected species in the region using their Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI). The NALCC promotes collaboration among multiple conservation partners to understand and address environmental and human-related vulnerabilities of species and habitats, including those due to climate change.

NatureServe and Heritage Program collaborators developed the CCVI to provide a rapid, scientifically defensible assessment of species' vulnerability to climate change. The CCVI is programmed in a Microsoft Excel? workbook and provides a relatively rapid means to assess the vulnerability of plant and animal species within a defined geographic area. It uses exposure-weighted scoring of multiple factors that can potentially affect species' vulnerability to climate change.

The goal of the NALCC assessment was to identify the vulnerability of an array of 64 selected species (20 plants, 19 birds, 9 invertebrates, 5 mammals, 4 fishes, 4 reptiles, and 3 amphibians) using the results to extrapolate to other species not directly assessed. Twenty-nine species were ranked as vulnerable to climate change in at least one subregion of analysis. Only one species, the Hessel's hairstreak butterfly, was ranked in the Extremely Vulnerable category, and only in the Northern Appalachian/Maritime Canada subregion. Major factors contributing to vulnerability were the impacts of sea level rise on coastal species and dependence on cool climates for species of northern affinity.

Fourteen species of High Regional Concern were ranked Presumed Stable, including three globally rare species: dwarf wedgemussel (invertebrate), New England cottontail (mammal), and small whorled pogonia (plant). Although all three species are highly vulnerable to a number of immediate threats, the additional effects of climate change are not expected to significantly exacerbate these threats in this LCC region.

Once the full report has been reviewed, it will be available on the NALCC website along with information on all the assessed species and more details about the CCVI tool. (mg)

The Wildlife Management Institute (WMI), in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), is providing support to the Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) network. This section of the Outdoor News Bulletin provides readers with regular updates on LCC efforts involving WMI.