Climate
change impacts on species interactions
 Globally, temperatures are rising in response to
increased levels of CO 2. This increase in temperature,
combined with other projected climatic changes, including
shifts in precipitation regimes, is projected to induce
a significant redistribution of the planet’s
flora and fauna. I am interested in how patterns of
faunal redistribution will be impacted by behavioral
and trophic interactions between species. Climate-driven
range shifts have the potential to create novel interactions
between faunal species (e.g. competitive interactions
and predator-prey interactions between species that
historically have not overlapped in distribution).
These interactions could strongly shape the structure
and function of ecological communities over the next
50-100 years, as wildlife respond to changes in climate.
In collaboration with Os
Schmitz, Kevin Johnston,
and Eric
Post, I use a modeling approach to address
these issues for North American fauna. These models,
in concert with growing empirical evidence, indicate
that novel species interactions will be pervasive,
as ranges shift in response to climate change, and
that this has the potential to amplify the impacts
of global climate change on ecosystems.
Relevant publications:
Burns, C.E. , K.M. Johnston, and O.J. Schmitz.
2003. Global climate change and mammalian species
diversity in US National Parks. PNAS. 100(20):
11474-77. [PDF]
Schmitz, O.J., E. Post, C.E. Burns, and K.M.
Johnston. 2003. Ecosystem responses to global
climate change: Moving beyond color-mapping.
BioScience. 53(12): 1199-1205. [PDF]
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