Changing climate conditions could have significant impacts on wildlife health. Shifts in temperature and precipitation may directly affect the occurrence of disease in fish and wildlife by altering their interactions with pathogens (such as the bacterium that causes Lyme disease), helping vectors like mosquitoes and ticks expand their range, or speeding up the time it takes for a parasite to develop from an egg to an adult. Climate change can also indirectly affect the health of fish and wildlife as their habitats change. For example, reduced food availability could lead to overcrowding and increased disease transmission, or warmer temperatures might increase stress levels, weakening immune systems and making animals more susceptible [...]
Summary
Changing climate conditions could have significant impacts on wildlife health. Shifts in temperature and precipitation may directly affect the occurrence of disease in fish and wildlife by altering their interactions with pathogens (such as the bacterium that causes Lyme disease), helping vectors like mosquitoes and ticks expand their range, or speeding up the time it takes for a parasite to develop from an egg to an adult. Climate change can also indirectly affect the health of fish and wildlife as their habitats change. For example, reduced food availability could lead to overcrowding and increased disease transmission, or warmer temperatures might increase stress levels, weakening immune systems and making animals more susceptible to disease.
The goal of this project is to review and synthesize existing information on the impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife health across North America. Researchers will develop a searchable database containing this information, and will use that database to identify gaps in knowledge and unique areas of concern. Through a symposium with DOI scientists and stakeholders, including resource managers, state agencies, and tribes, researchers will define near-term science priorities for better understanding the impacts of climate change on wildlife health and will identify potential adaptation strategies.
Climate change can affect the health of wildlife by affecting the interaction of hosts, such as wild mice, and pathogens, such as the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Climate change may also affect the geographic range that vectors, such as mosquitoes and ticks, are found or the time it takes for vectors to develop from egg to adult. It may also affect the time it takes for certain pathogens, such as the virus that causes West Nile virus infection, to develop within vectors. Climate change can also affect wildlife health indirectly through shifting the characteristics of habitat. This might lead to overcrowding due to reduced resources or increased stress levels due to an inability of hosts to tolerate heat. We will summarize existing literature on the impacts of climate change on wildlife health and conduct a workshop with USGS stakeholders and experts to develop research priorities for the next 3-5 years. The ultimate goal is to develop adaptation or mitigation strategies to protect natural resources from the impact of climate change.