Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Breeding And Feeding Habitat Selection By An Island Endemic Bird May Increase Its Vulnerability To Climate Change, Paul M. Radley, Eddie J. B. Van Etten, David Blake, Robert A. Davis

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Characterizing patterns of habitat use is an important first step for effective conservation planning. Species restricted to low-lying islands are at greatest risk from climate change-related sea level rise, and requirements for breeding and foraging habitat may determine their risk from tidal inundation. The endangered Micronesian Scrubfowl (Megapodius laperouse senex) is a model species for understanding these impacts. This species faces the cumulative challenges of tourist visitation, invasive species, and rising sea levels, yet little is understood about its habitat use in the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon Conservation Area (RISL) of Palau. We studied the habitat requirements of this mound-nesting …

Climate Change, Activism, And Supporting The Mental Health Of Children And Young People: Perspectives From Western Australia, Naomi J. Godden, Brad M. Farrant, Jaime Yallup Farrant, Emma Heyink, Eva Carot Collins, Bella Burgemeister, Mena Tabeshfar, Jason Barrow, Mara West, Jasmine Kieft, Mason Rothwell, Zoe Leviston, Susan Bailey, Mindy Blaise, Trudi Cooper

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The climate crisis has detrimental impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Psychological effects include feelings of fear, overwhelm, worry, distress, hopelessness and anger; PTSD; depression; anxiety; phobias; panic disorder; sleep disturbances; attachment disorders; learning difficulties; substance abuse; shock and trauma symptoms; adjustment problems; behavioural problems; and, suicidal thinking. First Nations' children and young people are particularly at risk due to loss of place, identity, culture, land and customs informed by kinship relationships with the Earth; while sustainable land use practices and connection to Country and community can enhance climate resilience. In Western Australia (WA), …

Population-Specific Resilience Of Halophila Ovalis Seagrass Habitat To Unseasonal Rainfall, An Extreme Climate Event In Estuaries, Chanelle L. Webster, Kieryn L. Kilminster, Marta Sánchez Alarcón, Katherine Bennett, Simone Strydom, Sian Mcnamara, Paul S. Lavery, Kathryn M. Mcmahon

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

1. Extreme climate events are predicted to alter estuarine salinity gradients exposing habitat-forming species to more frequent salinity variations. The intensity and duration of these variations, rather than the mean salinity values ecosystems are exposed to, may be more important in influencing resilience but requires further investigation.
2. Precipitation, including the frequency, intensity and timing of occurrence, is shifting due to climate change. A global analysis on the timing of rainfall in estuarine catchments was conducted. In 80% of the case studies, the maximum daily rainfall occurred in the dry season at least once over the 40-year period and could be classified …

Using Climate Change Models To Inform The Recovery Of The Western Ground Parrot Pezoporus Flaviventris, Shaun W. Molloy, Allan H. Burbidge, Sarah Comer, Robert A. Davis

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Translocation of species to areas of former habitat after threats have been mitigated is a common conservation action. However, the long-term success of reintroduction relies on identification of currently available habitat and areas that will remain, or become, habitat in the future. Commonly, a short-term view is taken, focusing on obvious and assumed threats such as predators and habitat degradation. However, in areas subject to significant climate change, challenges include correctly identifying variables that define habitat, and considering probable changes over time. This poses challenges with species such as the western ground parrot Pezoporus flaviventris, which was once relatively common …

A Review Of Nyoongar Responses To Severe Climate Change And The Threat Of Epidemic Disease—Lessons From Their Past, Francesca Robertson, Jason Barrow

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Nyoongar people have lived in the South West of Western Australia for at least 50,000 years. During that time, they experienced significant climate change, including wide variations in temperature and rainfall, and hundreds of metres’ difference in sea levels. Nyoongar people have a long memory, and climate change is described in their stories and in the knowledge they hold about how life was lived in earlier times. There are artifacts and places that have been manipulated to be productive despite severe drought. COVID-19 disrupted the writing of this article, and the authors felt it appropriate to include Nyoongar responses to …

Seagrass Losses Since Mid‐20th Century Fuelled Co2 Emissions From Soil Carbon Stocks, Cristian Salinas, Carlos M. Duarte, Paul Lavery, Pere Masque´, Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Javier X. Leon, David Callaghan, Gary A. Kendrick, Oscar Serrano

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Seagrass meadows store globally significant organic carbon (C_org) stocks which, if disturbed, can lead to CO₂ emissions, contributing to climate change. Eutrophication and thermal stress continue to be a major cause of seagrass decline worldwide, but the associated CO₂ emissions remain poorly understood. This study presents comprehensive estimates of seagrass soil C_org erosion following eutrophication‐driven seagrass loss in Cockburn Sound (23 km² between 1960s and 1990s) and identifies the main drivers. We estimate that shallow seagrass meadows ( < 5 m depth) had significantly higher C_org stocks in 50 cm thick soils (4.5 ± 0.7 kg C_org/m²) …

Seasonal Weather And Climate Prediction Over Area Burned In Grasslands Of Northeast China, Ali Hassan Shabbir, Jiquan Zhang, John W. Groninger, Eddie J. B. Van Etten, Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie, James A. Lutz, Carlos Valencia

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Grassland fire dynamics are subject to myriad climatic, biological, and anthropogenic drivers, thresholds, and feedbacks and therefore do not conform to assumptions of statistical stationarity. The presence of non-stationarity in time series data leads to ambiguous results that can misinform regional-level fire management strategies. This study employs non-stationarity in time series data among multiple variables and multiple intensities using dynamic simulations of autoregressive distributed lag models to elucidate key drivers of climate and ecological change on burned grasslands in Xilingol, China. We used unit root methods to select appropriate estimation methods for further analysis. Using the …

Emotions Predict Policy Support: Why It Matters How People Feel About Climate Change, Susie Wang, Zoe Leviston

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Current research shows that emotions can motivate climate engagement and action, but precisely how has received scant attention. We propose that strong emotional responses to climate change result from perceiving one's “objects of care” as threatened by climate change, which motivates caring about climate change itself, and in turn predicts behaviour. In two studies, we find that climate scientists (N = 44) experience greater emotional intensity about climate change than do students (N = 94) and the general population (N = 205), and that patterns of emotional responses explain differences in support for climate change policy. Scientists tied their emotional …

President Trump Tweets Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un On Nuclear Weapons: A Comparison With Climate Change, David E. Allen, Michael Mcaleer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A set of 125 tweets about North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un by President Trump from 2013 to 2018 are analysed by means of the data mining technique, sentiment analysis. The intention is to explore the contents and sentiments of the messages contained, the degree to which they differ, and their implications about President Trump's understanding and approach to international diplomacy. The results suggest a predominantly positive emotion in relation to tweets about North Korea, despite the use of questionable nicknames such as "Little Rocket Man". A comparison is made between the tweets on North Korea and climate change, madefrom …

Species Distribution Model Of Invasive Alien Species Acacia Nilotica For Central-Eastern Indonesia Using Biodiversity Climate Change Virtual Laboratory (Bccvl), Sutomo, Eddie Van Etten

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Climate change may facilitate alien species invasion into new areas. This study uses Biodiversity and Climate Change Virtual Laboratory to develop a species distribution model (SDM) of Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Delile. based upon its naturalized distribution to project the potential distribution of A. nilotica throughout tropical environment of Indonesia under current and future climate conditions. Global biodiversity information facility database was utilized to obtain the species occurrences data. The climate factors were precipitation and temperature layers, available in Worldclim current conditions (1950-2000) at 2.5 arcmin. We used Generalized Linear Model. The result was then projected to the year …

Climate Change And Malaria Control: The Importance Of Mitigation And A Call To Action, Emmanuel O. Adewuyi, Kazeem Adefemi

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Malaria has remained an important target for global disease control efforts for decades. The streams of funds and, consequently, availability of effective interventions for the disease have resulted in considerable reduction in its burden, globally. Despite the relative success of such global efforts, malaria remains a significant threat in over a hundred countries, worldwide, leading to about one million deaths and hundreds of millions of hospital visits, annually. Many researchers and health commentators have argued that global warming, a consequence of climate change, could be linked – directly or indirectly – to the persistence as well as the re-emergence of …

Strengthening Confidence In Climate Change Impact Science, Mary I. O'Connor, Johnna M. Holding, Carrie V. Kappel, Carlos M. Duarte, Keith Brander, Christopher J. Brown, John F. Bruno, Lauren Buckley, Michael T. Burrows, Benjamin S. Halpern, Wolfgang Kiessling, Pippa Moore, John M. Pandolfi, Camille Parmesan, Elvira S. Poloczanska, David S. Schoeman, William J. Sydeman, Anthony J. Richardson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Aim: To assess confidence in conclusions about climate-driven biological change through time, and identify approaches for strengthening confidence scientific conclusions about ecological impacts of climate change. Location: Global. Methods: We outlined a framework for strengthening confidence in inferences drawn from biological climate impact studies through the systematic integration of prior expectations, long-term data and quantitative statistical procedures. We then developed a numerical confidence index (Cindex) and used it to evaluate current practices in 208 studies of marine climate impacts comprising 1735 biological time series. Results: Confidence scores for inferred climate impacts varied widely from 1 to 16 (very low to …