Drier mountains pose a double whammy for cold-adapted amphibians

Date:  January 25, 2019

Source:  Simon Fraser University

A species of frog endemic to the Pacific Northwest faces a 50 per cent increase in the probability of extinction by the 2080s due to climate change, according to a new study published by SFU researchers in the Ecological Society of America.

The mountain-dwelling Cascades frog thrives in extreme climatic conditions, ranging from dozens of feet of snow in winter to temperatures in excess of 90°F in summer. Cascades frogs are explosive breeders and their role as predators of flying insects is critical to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

SFU biologist Wendy Palen, along with co-authors Mike Adams of the United States Geological Survey and Maureen Ryan and Amanda Kissel of Conservation Science Partners, set out to understand the effects of climate change on these unique amphibians.

Specifically, they aimed to assess how the warmer and drier temperatures occurring with climate change affect the survival of two distinct aspects of the frog's life cycle: in the aquatic stage where the frogs develop as tadpoles in shallow ponds, and in the terrestrial environment stage where they live as adults.

During the frogs' aquatic stage, the researchers evaluated whether warmer temperatures would increase food production and result in larger, healthier frogs upon metamorphosis, or whether entire generations of frogs would die in years when warmer, drier winters lead to ponds that dry quickly, stranding tadpoles before metamorphosis.

Continued

Trout, salamander populations quickly bounce back from severe drought conditions

January 22, 2019 by Steve Lundeberg, Oregon State University

Populations of coastal cutthroat trout and coastal giant salamanders in the Pacific Northwest show the ability to rebound quickly from drought conditions, new research by Oregon State University suggests.

The findings, published in the journal Hydrobiologia, indicate that the fish and salamander populations can get back to predrought form within just a few years.

That's important because climate change is anticipated to make drought years such as the one in this study—2015—occur more frequently, and the resilience of these dominant stream predators suggests they will be able to persist as long as the droughts do not occur many years in a row.

"What we found buys us time to try to fix climate change as best we can or at least keep it where it is right now," said study co-author Dana Warren, an OSU faculty member in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Forestry. "If we can do that, the populations in these headwater streams will be fairly resilient, but if not, they'll clearly be more threatened."

Read more at: 

Climate change could leave Pacific Northwest amphibians high and dry

Date: September 4, 2015

Source: University of Washington

Summary: A new model for snow-fed mountain wetlands projects that this year's dry conditions could be common by the 2070s, affecting the Cascades frog and other mountain species.

Far above the wildfires raging in Washington's forests, a less noticeable consequence of this dry year is taking place in mountain ponds. The minimal snowpack and long summer drought that have left the Pacific Northwest lowlands parched also affect the region's amphibians due to loss of mountain pond habitat.

According to a new paper published Sept. 2 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, this summer's severe conditions may be the new normal within just a few decades.

Continued ...

Active Forest Management to Reduce Fire Could Help Protect Northern Spotted Owl

ScienceDaily (July 24, 2012) — The northern spotted owl, a threatened species in the Pacific Northwest, would actually benefit in the long run from active management of the forest lands that form its primary habitat and are increasingly vulnerable to stand-replacing fire, researchers conclude in a recent study.

Whatever short-term drawbacks there may be from logging, thinning, or other fuel reduction activities in areas with high fire risk would be more than offset by improved forest health and fire-resistance characteristics, the scientists said, which allow more spotted owl habitat to survive in later decades.

Decades of fire suppression and a "hands-off" approach to management on many public lands have created overcrowded forests that bear little resemblance to their historic condition -- at the expense of some species such as the northern spotted owl, researchers said.

The findings were published in Forest Ecology and Management, a professional journal, by researchers from Oregon State University and Michigan State University.

Continued: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120724144530.htm

Too Few Salmon Is Far Worse Than Too Many Boats for Killer Whales

ScienceDaily (June 6, 2012) — Not having enough Chinook salmon to eat stresses out southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest more than having boatloads of whale watchers nearby, according to hormone levels of whales summering in the Salish Sea.

In lean times, however, the stress level normally associated with boats becomes more pronounced, further underscoring the importance of having enough prey, according to Katherine Ayres, an environmental and pet-behavior consultant who led the research while a University of Washington doctoral student in biology. Ayres is lead author of a paper appearing online June 6, in the journal PLoS ONE.

In a surprise finding, hormone levels show that southern resident killer whales are best fed when they come into the Salish Sea in the late spring, Ayres said. The Salish Sea includes Puget Sound and the straits of Georgia, Haro and Juan de Fuca. Once there they get a necessary boost later in the summer while eating Chinook salmon at the height of the Fraser River run.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120606193452.htm

Hungry snowy owls flock around Vancouver

By Christine Scott - Campbell River Mirror

Snowy owls find ample prey at Boundary Bay. Large numbers of the birds 

have been spotted around the Lower Mainland this year.

Greg Pond/Special to The Mirror

Only once every four or five years, driven by lack of prey in their usual wintering grounds, snowy owls fly south to Pacific Northwest shores.

This has been such a year, and the high numbers of North America’s largest owl, concentrated near Vancouver, have created a mecca for birdwatchers and photographers.

Nature Vancouver’s online Rare Bird Alert had reported large numbers of owls near 72nd Street on Boundary Bay, plus more in the Brunswick Point area of Delta.

One source counted more than 70 owls at one point. In the winter of 1973-’74, a record 107 snowy owls were seen during Ladner’s Christmas Bird Count.

Numbers this high constitute a major snowy owl flight year, with the birds expected to remain into mid-April. Observers, including excited birders and eager photographers, have been asked to keep a respectful distance, in order not to flush or frighten off the large, imposing owl of the north, which measures 58 centimeters – about two feet in height – with an enormous 127 cm wingspan.

The massive bird of prey tends to sit motionless, with large golden eyes ever watchful for small waterfowl and other prey. Snowy owl flight years tend to make the news simply because of their relative rarity and the bird’s size and mystique.

Snowy owls lead nomadic lives and travel vast distances from year to year searching for productive feeding areas. Some years, most recently in the winter of 2011-’12, conditions cause them to come south in great numbers.

Year-round, the snowy owl traditionally makes its home in the Yukon and in Alaska, where native arctic lemmings abound. Yet every four or five years, owl reproduction increases, and lemming and vole numbers decline, forcing hungry owls to fly south for food.

It’s been five years since such numbers have been seen on B.C.’s southern coast.

All is not bliss in the snowies’ oceanview feeding grounds, as wildlife rehabilitators have received several owls in poor shape. Upon arrival to our shores, the owls are exhausted, emaciated and fragile, having flown thousands of kilometres in search of prey.

E-mail Christine at: wildernesswest@shaw.ca

http://www.campbellrivermirror.com/lifestyles/147194345.html