Colorado-based researchers say the aggressive wolverine may not be powerful enough to survive climate change in the contiguous United States.
Wolverine habitat in the northwestern United States is likely to warm dramatically if society continues to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, according to new computer model simulations carried out at Boulder’s National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
The study found that climate change is likely to imperil the wolverine in two ways: reducing or eliminating the springtime snow cover that wolverines rely on to protect and shelter newborn kits, and increasing August temperatures well beyond what the species may be able to tolerate.
“Species that depend on snow cover for their survival are likely to be very vulnerable to climate change,” says NCAR scientist Synte Peacock, the author of the study. “It’s highly uncertain whether wolverines will continue to survive in the lower 48, given the changes that are likely to take place there.”
Peacock’s research focused on the mountainous regions of the Northwest, the primary habitat of the wolverine population in the contiguous United States. The study did not look into the impacts of climate change on regions where wolverines are more numerous, such as Canada, although other research has indicated those areas will likely warm significantly as well.
The study was published last week in Environmental Research Letters. It was funded by the National Science Foundation, NCAR’s sponsor.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
