Can climate change trigger a paradigm shift in biodiversity monitoring?

Scientists are working hard to keep a close eye on our wildlife populations, but climate change could disrupt some of their tracking efforts.

With the popularity of events like the upcoming City Nature Challenge, an annual, friendly, international collaboration that encourages people to become citizen scientists to document our biodiversity, the increase in the frequency of extreme weather could mean less help coming from people outside nature. scientific community in monitoring our natural world.

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Like humans, animals are “extremely dependent” on the weather, so their behavior will adapt based on what’s happening around them, according to James Page, at-risk species and biodiversity specialist for the Canadian Wildlife Federation ( CWF).

“If it’s cold and raining outside, they might crouch down like humans do. That also makes it harder to track them and get information about what they’re up to and their movement patterns.” people to be able to observe them,” Page said in a recent interview with The Weather Network.

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More intense weather could mean fewer observations are made

The adverse effects of extreme weather on wildlife behavior are well documented, something humans are not immune to either, Page explains.

“Since species are less easily spotted, this means that when it’s cold and rainy (or) when they’re sheltering in place like humans, there are also fewer people likely to make the effort to go out and explore the wildlife capture them,” said Page.

As a result, it can be a bit of a “setback” for scientists because parts of the data they collect is based on community efforts or citizen science, Page added.

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“People might be less likely to go out into the cold rain and risk getting their phones or devices wet, and might not think about taking photos and documenting biodiversity,” says Page. “But it’s really important, and community science programs like iNaturalist can help inform both animal and human behavior as we make those observations.”

Also, researchers should consider longer-term seasonal trends when looking at the impact of weather, as some years will see milder or colder conditions than normal, he said.

As a result, we could see either the early flowering of tree buds and the arrival of insects, such as honey bees waking from hibernation in Saskatchewan in the winter, or a delay in the re-emergence of wildlife due to cold snap, Page added to it.

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“Conversely, if we get a later spring, the migratory species may come back from where they overwintered and not have the same food sources available to them,” Page says. “If there’s still a lot of snow, if the insects aren’t there, if the trees aren’t blooming yet and the flowers aren’t coming up yet, (those could be problems).”

The nature challenge is a ‘good motivation’ to go outside after winter has left

In Canada, the City Nature Challenge takes place in mid-spring, when the weather typically becomes more favorable for being outdoors. The event is “good motivation” to get outside and think about the field season and the approaching summer, Page said.

The idea behind the annual challenge is to see which city can capture and upload the most wildlife species observations using iNaturalist – an app that includes image recognition software online and on smartphones – to help users instantly identify plants and animals living where are also observed.

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“It’s a great opportunity to motivate those who need a little extra push to get outside and have a reason to think about spring, and think about capturing meaningful biodiversity data,” said Page .

This year’s event will take place in two parts: recording observations from April 26 to 29 and identifying observations from April 30 to May 5.

“The number of people who can get out and record wildlife during the City Nature Challenge, if we can collect tens of thousands of observations in just four short days, could be very useful for conservation work,” says Page.

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And for those who don’t live in participating cities, they can still participate in the global iNaturalist project, which will add their observations to the global overview.

Due to the changing climate, it will be difficult to pinpoint exactly where the shifts in wildlife numbers in Canada will be due to the complexity of ecosystems, Page said.

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“Climate change makes it more likely that the highly mobile species will adapt than the non-mobile species,” says Page.

“There is a lot of thought that birds in general, especially in the southern part of Canada, (could increase in populations) because of warming temperatures. It could accommodate more species that normally occur a little further south.”

‘Observe with your own safety in mind’

Another crucial part of documenting nature is safety. In addition to keeping a safe distance from wildlife at all times, it’s paramount that you protect yourself from the elements while outdoors, whether it’s rain, snow, thunderstorms or wildfires, Page says.

The main message is: “observe with your own safety in mind.”

“In every situation, we want people to look after themselves and make sure they are safe, whether it’s extreme weather or observing wildlife, on the roadside or in a natural environment,” Page said.

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“People need to be aware of their surroundings and make sure they are safe and don’t get too close to anything dangerous, such as a forest fire, a flood or a grizzly bear.”

However, extreme weather does provide the opportunity to see firsthand the impacts on wildlife, as long as it is safe to document them, Page said.

“(People can) help provide data on the behavior and responses of wildlife, including plants and trees, as regeneration occurs,” says Page. “Even going back to recording observations and the biodiversity present can also help inform those regeneration and repopulation efforts.”

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