Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
efforts,.and.thereby.avoid.“reinventing.the.wheel.”.Similarly,.merging.the.time.and.
talents. of. multiple. team. members. (McLennan
this volume
). can. bring. surprisingly.
helpful.insights.and.improvements.to.most.projects..Such.collaboration.may.involve.
only.similar.disciplines.or.may.merge.expertise.from.highly.divergent.disciplines..
For.example,.wildlife.ecologists.may.ind.synergy.when.working.with.climatologists,.
economists,.ecosystems-simulation.modelers,.ecological-niche.modelers.(Martínez-
Meyer
this volume
),. soil. scientists,. botanists,. hydrologists,. physiologists,. epidemi-
ologists.and.veterinarians,.and.sociologists..The.right.team.will.ideally.relect.the.
system.and.hypotheses.or.questions.being.addressed,.and.less.strongly.relect.per-
sonalities.and.political.allegiances..We.agree.with.Jones.(
this volume
).that.seeking.to.
sustain,.conserve,.and.promote.resilience.will.serve.as.a.valuable.long-term.strategy,.
and. with. Wilson. and. Gutiérrez. (
this volume
). that. reducing. nonclimate. threats. to.
species. and. ecosystems. that. appear. particularly. vulnerable. to. rapid. change. (espe-
cially.decline).may.render.a.more-palatable.palette.of.management.and.conservation.
options.for.the.future.
SUMMARY
Finally,.we.cannot.stress.enough.how.important.a.mechanism-focused.approach.will.
be. to. clarify. and. unravel. the. nuances. that. often. typify. wildlife-climate. relation-
ships..As.illustrated.in.this.topic,.such.approaches.may.involve.exploratory.modeling.
and.analyses;.development.and.use.of.novel.ield.instruments,.tools,.and.analytical.
approaches.(e.g.,.Wilson.et.al..2005);.and.well-reasoned.thinking.from.design.through.
interpretation.stages.of.research.or.monitoring..In.some.cases,.parallel.experiments.
may.be.needed.to.remove.alternative.explanations,.one.at.a.time;.in.others,.factorial.
and.other.more.complex.designs.may.be.required.to.tease.out.how.various.factors.are.
combining.synergistically.in.biotic.responses.to.changes.in.climate..Explicit.testing.
of.our.assumptions,.both.new.and.long.held,.may.yield.additional.insight.(Fleishman.
and. Murphy
this volume
;. Guralnick. et. al.
this volume
).. Such. understanding. from.
these.and.other.approaches.will.be.the.energy.to.fuel.the.adaptation,.mitigation,.and.
restoration. engines,. as. biotas. respond. at. various. spatial. and. temporal. scales.. The.
results.of.these.and.other.efforts.may.well.be.some.of.the.more.enduring.legacies.by.
which.the.current.generation.may.be.remembered.decades.into.the.future.
REFERENCES
Allen,.C..D..2007..Interactions.across.spatial.scales.among.forest.dieback,.ire,.and.erosion.in.
northern.New.Mexico.landscapes..
Ecosystems
.10:797-808.
Beever,.E..A.,.C..Ray,.P..W..Mote,.and.J..L..Wilkening..2010..Testing.alternative.models.of.
climate-mediated.extirpations..
Ecological Applications
.20:164-178.
Beever,. E..A.,. C.. Ray,. J.. L..Wilkening,. P.. F.. Brussard,. and. P..W.. Mote.. 2011.. Contemporary.
climate. change. hastens. extinctions. and. alters. the. factors. governing. extinction..
Global
Change Biology
17(6):2054-2070.
Breshears,.D..D.,.T..E..Huxman,.H..D..Adams,.C..B..Zou,.and.J..E..Davison..2008..Vegetation.
synchronously.leans.upslope.as.climate.warms..
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America
105:11591-11592.
