Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability of Breeding Birds in Arctic ...

management strategies in Arctic Alaska,important climate change and other impactsare occurring outside the breeding season forsome species. A few species withpopulations that are thought to be declining(e.g., American Golden-plover, Dunlin)were not ranked as particularly vulnerable toclimate change impacts in Arctic Alaska.Most of these species are thought to bedeclining due to habitat loss and alterationon migration stopover sites or winteringgrounds (Brown et al. 2001). For otherspecies ranked as vulnerable or nearvulnerableto climate change in ArcticAlaska, specific sites in wintering ranges oralong the routes of passage migration mayoffer the greatest opportunities formanagement actions that mitigate theimpacts of changing climate. This may beespecially important in cases wherevulnerabilities on a species’ Alaska breedinggrounds cannot be directly ameliorated.Conversely, we perhaps better understandwhich factors likely do not contributegreatly to vulnerability for the bird speciesconsidered. We also identified importantgaps in our knowledge specific to climatechange impacts. The last twoaccomplishments can help informsubsequent research efforts throughprioritization and hypothesis development.While climate change will greatly challengewildlife and habitats in Arctic Alaska, thiseffort provides one tool useful insafeguarding these valuable resources.Common Eider flying over the Beaufort Sea.(Photo: S. Zack @ WCS)ConclusionDespite obvious challenges, this assessmentrepresents a starting point to help prioritizemanagement actions and conservationplanning efforts with respect to Arcticbreeding birds. Through the assessmentprocess we identified particular factors thatare likely the most important contributors toincreased vulnerability to climate change.32