For classroom teachers and informal educators in parks, refuges, forest lands, nature centers, zoos, aquariums, science centers.

Target audience - middle school grade level

Case study approach that includes the science of climate change, its impacts on U.S. wildlife and wildlands, and what students can do to help address the issues.

Activities for students – based on the 11 eco-region case studies – including science, social science, math, language arts, and art activities. Developed by master teachers in the 2008 Albert Einstein Fellowship. The specific Climate Literacy Guidelines and National Education Standards are referenced for each activity.

Glossary of Scientific Terms – great for vocabulary development.

Template and instructions for making the popular EPA Global Warming Wheel Card

PDF of Poster titled “How Do You Measure Up?” illustrating the importance of setting goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in households, schools, communities, etc., by first taking an inventory of one’s present emissions.

Video – 12 minute, high definition, engaging and highly informative video on climate change science and impacts on wildlife and their habitat in U.S., to be used in classrooms as an introduction to the topic or in Visitor Centers and in docent/interpreter talks in informal educational settings.

Fact sheets on how migratory birds and cold-water fish will be impacted by climate change

Ecoregion Format:

•Introduction to geographic and geologic features•Ecosystem characteristics•Impacts of Climate Change•Spotlight on a Species•Profiling an Climate Steward•Lesson Plans

Case Studies focus on 11 ecoregions in the U.S.

•Western Forests and Mountains – Mountain Pine Beetle•Western Coastline - Salmon•Eastern Coastline – Diamondback Terrapin•Gulf Coast – Red Mangrove•Pacific Islands – Monk Seal•Caribbean – Coral reefs•Great Lakes – Lake trou•Polar / Subpolar (Alaska) – Pacific Walrus•Desert Arid – Desert Pupfish•Prairie Grasslands – Waterfowl•Eastern Forests and Woodlands – Bees

and Pollination

State of Hawai’i, and the territories of Guam and American Samoa

Spotlight Species: Hawaiian monk seal

Named for its solitary nature and because the folds of skin on its head resemble a monk’s hood.

NWHI are spread over more than1,200 miles of the Pacific Ocean

• Low lying area – Highest elevation – 3 (9.8 ft).

•Open atoll of a large, crescent-shaped reef surrounding numerous small, sandy islets.

•Refuge to the largest sub-population of endangered Hawaiian monk seals

• Over 938 square kilometers

Tern Island, a part of the atoll, was formed into a runway to serve as a refueling stop for planes enroute to Midway during World War II.

Breeding ground for 90% of threatened green sea turtles in the Hawaiian Islands.

Many of its anatomical features closely resemble those of a species of monk seal that lived along the East Coast of the United States some 14 to 16 million years ago.

The Hawaiian monk seal population is at its lowest level in recorded history.

About 1,200 individuals are alive. Hawaiian monk seals do not leave their island chain home.

Females prefer to pup on sandy beaches in areas with shallow, protected water near shore.

Predation by sharks on young monk seals has been identified as a critical factor in the seal's survival at French Frigate Shoals

Galapagos sharks pose a threat to Hawaiian monk seal pups at French Frigate Shoals.

In 1963, Whaleskate Island was the second largest islet used for pupping.

By the late 1990s, Whaleskate Island disappeared.

Trig Island became the most common birthing site.

Crowding of females and pups onto Trig Island may have contributed to the increasein shark attacks.

By 2100 terrestrial habitat loss is predicted to be up to:

65% under a med scenario (48 cm rise) 75% under the max scenario (88 cm rise)

Photo Credit: Jessica Aschettino

Activity 1: Mapping Deep-Sea Habits

Activity 2: Monk Seals: The Odd Couple

Activity 3: Monk Seals: Seals, Corals and Dollars

Climates:• Southern California’s Mediterranean (mild rainy winters and warm dry summers)• Northern colder regions with high precipitation

• Increase in sea level• Increased frequency of

severe storms• Increased coastal erosion

• Region has grown warmer and wetter, with average temperature in the NW United States inc 1 - 4° F in the past century.• Temperatures projected to rise 3 - 10° F this century.• Warmer temperatures will result in more precipitation falling as rain rather than snow• Snowpack will diminish and stream flow timing will be altered• Peak river flows will likely increase• Water temperatures will continue to rise

Typical wintertime Sea Surface Temperature (colors), Sea Level Pressure (contours) and surface wind stress (arrows)

Warm Cool

• Major changes in northeast Pacific marine ecosystems • Warm eras see enhanced coastal ocean biological productivity in Alaska • Inhibited productivity off the west coast of the contiguous United States• Cold PDO eras see the opposite north-south pattern of marine ecosystem productivity.

• What is the effect of PDO on Salmon populations?

• What is the difference between cyclical increases and decreases and long term changes in salmon populations?

•What is the trend of sea surface temperature?

• How will long-term climate changes impact northwest Pacific salmon populations?

PDO Index from 1955 to 2005(Number is calculated from data including sea surface anomalies)

• What is the effect of PDO on Salmon populations?

• What is the difference between cyclical increases and decreases and long term changes in salmon populations?

•What is the trend of sea surface temperature?

• How will long-term climate changes impact northwest Pacific salmon populations?

Salmon runs increase in cold PDO years and decrease in warm years

What is the overall long term trend of sea surface temperature?

Many people look at years with increasing populations as “evidence” that there is no climate change impact on salmon.

What is the difference between cycles and long term trends/changes?

• A higher frequency of severe floods.• Snowpacks will run off earlier in the spring • Summer base flows of streams will be lower• Network of perennially flowing streams will shrink during the summer dry period• Warmer water temperatures will lower growth rates if warmer streams do not produce sufficient food resources to offset heightened metabolic demands. • Summer temperatures may approach or exceed lethal levels for salmon and trout • Higher temperatures will likely favor non-salmonid species that are better adapted to warmer water, including potential predators and competitors