Presentation by Barbara Samora, Park Biologist

1. Climate
Change
Related
Long-­‐term
Monitoring,
Inventories,
Surveys
and
Research
in
The
Nisqually
Watershed
in
Mount
Rainier
Na?onal
Park

2. Long-­‐term
Ecological
Monitoring
Programs

3. Climate
Monitoring
• Understand
varia7ons
in
other
park
resources
being
monitored.
• Compare
current
and
historical
data
to
understand
long
term
trends.
air
temp
precipita7on
(including
snow)
snow
depth
wind
speed
wind
direc7on
soil
moisture
soil
temperature
rela7ve
humidity

4. Climate
Monitoring
Cayuse Pass
SNOTEL
Cayuse
Pass

5. Climate
View
of
Tatoosh
Range
from
Paradise
Water
Year
2011
Paradise
Record
year
Snow
melt
8/25

6. Extreme
Weather
Events
Gobblers
Knob
Lookout
winter
2006
2006
121mph
Nov
6

7. Remnants
of
an
avalanche
that
occurred
at
Owyhigh
Lakes,
Mount
Rainier
Na7onal
Park.
Avalanche
debris
covered
most
of
the
northern
por7on
of
the
lake
and
introduced
substan7al
amounts
of
large
woody
debris
into
the
lake.
Photo
was
taken
on
July
19th,
2011.

9. Monitoring
Mountain
Lake
Ecology
Lakes
are
like
petri
dishes
–
exposed
to
atmospheric
and
terrestrial
processes.
and
subject
to
climate
change,
wind-­‐blown
contaminants,
acid
rain,
and
increased
recrea7onal
impacts

11. Long
Term
Lakes
Monitoring
Amphibians
Fish
Macroinvertebrates
Zooplankton

12. Citizen Science Amphibian Monitoring

14. Nisqually
River
at
Longmire
Drainage
basin
size:
48.67
km2
(18.79
mi2)
3
Glaciers
(Nisqually,
Wilson
and
Van
Trump)
Mean
annual
precipita7on:
262
cm
(103
in)

15. Discharge
Measurement

16. Radar
Level
Sensor

19. Mount
Rainier
Atmospheric
Issues
Climate
change
could
have
the
following
impacts
• on
air
quality
levels
(EPA
2009):
Deposi7on
sulfur
and
nitrogen
compounds
(acid
deposi7on)
• Produce
2-­‐8
ppb
increases
in
summer?me
Visibility
• average
ground-­‐level
ozone
concentra?ons
in
Ozone
many
regions
of
the
country.
Research
exacerbate
ozone
concentra?ons
on
•
Further
• days
when
weather
is
ailready
conducive
to
high
Mercury/contaminants
n
fish
and
sediments
ozone
concentra?ons
•
Lengthen
the
ozone
season
•
Produce
both
increases
and
decreases
in
par?cle
pollu?on
over
different
regions
of
the
U.S.

20. Baseline
Inventories/
Research

21. Mercury
Cycling
and
Ecological
Risk
Across
Habitats
in
Mount
Rainier
Na7onal
Park
Climate
change
alters
biochemistry
enhances
conversion
to
methyl
mercury
through
temp
changes
and
changes
in
weing
and
drying
pajerns
alters
distribu7on
of
species
Quan7fy
Hg
bioaccumula7on
and
risk
in
aqua7c
habitats
throughout
the
park
and
determine
spa7al
varia7on
among
different
aqua7c
habitat
types
Provide
a
tool
to
predict
risk
at
sites
throughout
the
park

23. NPS
and
Biodiversity
Research
Ins7tute

25. Declining Amphibians
• -Habitat Destruction
• -Chemical
Contaminants
• -Pathogens
• -Climate Change
• -UV-B Radiation
• -Introduced Species

26. Chytridiomycosis
Objec?ves
(Batrachochytrium
1. Rank
the
pond
dendroba1dis
(Bd)),
is
a
breeding
amphibians
major
driver
of
based
on
a
calculated
amphibian
declines
and
index
of
resistance
to
ex7nc7ons
worldwide
Bd.
2. Contrast
this
index
for
select
species
between
popula7ons.
3. Contrast
the
occurrence,
prevalence,
and
intensity
of
Bd
infec7on
between
popula7ons.

27. Research

28. Modeling
climate
change
effects
on
the
hydrology
of
Pacific
Northwest
wetland
ecosystems
 develop
hydrologic
projec7ons
for
wetland
habitats
(forest
wetlands,
wet
meadows,
small
ponds,
riparian
wetlands)
to
support
ecological
and
landscape-­‐based
vulnerability
assessments
and
climate
adapta7on
planning
 Monitor
Temperature
and
water
level
in
wetland
habitats
Conduct
visual
surveys
of
wetlands
to
map/measure
changes
in
pond
depth
&
areal
extent,
and
monitor
amphibian
occupancy

29. Cascades
Bu[erfly
Project
Bujerflies
are
sensi7ve
indicators
of
climate
change
because
temperature
influences
the
7ming
of
an
individual’s
life
cycle
and
the
geographic
distribu7on
of
species.
As
individuals
develop
from
egg
to
larvae
to
pupae
and
finally
to
mature
bujerfly,
temperature
thresholds
may
trigger
these
changes.
Mountain
Parnassian
(Parnassius
smintheus)
Inventories
are
being
conducted
of
bujerflies
across
our
landscape
Permanent
transects
have
been
established
to
monitor
changes
in
bujerfly
abundance
and
species
diversity.
Volunteers
record
bujerfly
abundances
and
plants
in
flower
along
each
transect.

30. Pollinators
of
alpine
and
subalpine
plant
communi7es
on
Mount
Rainier
Elinore
J.
Theobald
Co-­‐PI:
Dr.
Janneke
HilleRisLambers
Biology
Department
University
of
Washington
document
pollinator
diversity
and
abundance
and
quan7fy
how
plant
reproduc7ve
success
depends
on
pollinators
Pollinator
visits
will
ensure
that
plants
set
seed
and
meadows
con7nue
to
flower

31. TESTING
THE
LIMITS:
EFFECTS
OF
CLIMATE
&
COMPETITION
ON
CONIFER
DISTRIBUTIONS
AT
MT.
RAINIER
Ailene
Kane
Einger,
PhD
Candidate
Dr.
Janneke
HilleRisLabmers,
Advisor
Biology
Department
University
of
Washington
how
will
tree
seedlings,
such
as
this
western
hemlock,
will
be
affected
by
climate
change

32. Phenology
and
Climate
Change
Dr.
Janneke
Hille
Ris
Lambers,
Biology
Department
University
of
Washington
Examine
the
links
between
plant
phenology
(flowering)
to
microclimate
variability
(e.g.
snow
dura7on,
temperature
Predicted
climate
changes
(temp,
snowmelt,
precip)
will
affect
the
phenology
(i.e.
7ming
of
biological
life
events)
of
subalpine
wildflower
species,
which
could
have
implica7ons
for
the
pollina7ng
insects
that
rely
on
them

33. Predic?ng
the
effects
of
future
climate
change
on
the
subalpine
and
alpine
meadows
of
Pacific
Northwest
Mountains
• meadows
support
seven
of
the
12
imperiled
or
rare
plants
in
the
park
(including
the
two
plant
species
endemic
to
Mount
Rainier
and
the
local
area).
•
meadows
provide
important
habitat
for
wildlife
such
as
mountain
goats,
white-­‐tailed
ptarmigans,
hoary
marmots
and
the
American
pika.
•
the
meadows
are
a
popular
Snow disappears earlier from ridges des7na7on
in
the
Park,
with
(which are more likely to support about
65%
of
visitors
patches of trees) than topographic travelling
to
the
meadows
to
depressions (which are more likely view
the
wildflower
displays.
to support patches of meadow).

34. RESPONSE
OF
RIVER
RUNOFF
TO
BLACK
CARBON
IN
SNOW
AND
ICE
IN
WASHINGTON
STATE
1. assess
the
spa7al
and
temporal
variability
of
BC
deposited
in
Washington
snow
and
glacier
ice,
2. begin
to
assess
the
poten7al
role
of
BC
in
accelera7ng
snow
and
glacier
melt