*NCCWSC 2013 CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT WEBINAR SERIES* A partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey's National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center (NCTC)
*"**Climate-sensitive, Insular Ecosystems of the Southeastern U.S.: The State of the Science and a Case Study of Limestone Cedar Glades in the Central Basin of Tennessee**”* *Jennifer Cartwright, USGS Tennessee Water Science Center* *Wednesday, February 19, 3:30 PM Eastern** **via WebEx (Register at https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/webinar/304) * *Description:* In the Southeastern U.S., “insular ecosystems” may be particularly vulnerable to ecological effects from climate change. These insular ecosystems are characterized by (1) occurrences that are spatially discrete, (2) relatively small geographic footprints, and (3) steep ecological and environmental gradients at their boundaries. Such insular ecosystems tend to support concentrations of endemic and disjunct species; thus their contributions to regional biodiversity are often disproportionate to their small geographic sizes. Components of this project included a systematic literature review to document the biodiversity of selected insular ecosystems and to evaluate their potential vulnerability to climate change; a conceptual model for ecosystem integrity based on abiotic stress regimes and application of this model to generate hypotheses for ecological alteration based on changes in temperature or precipitation; and a 2-year field investigation in Limestone Cedar Glades to explore links between hydrology, soil physical and chemical properties, and ecological outcomes such as soil microbial community structure. This case study serves as an example of the type of empirical research that researchers argue is necessary to better evaluate the climate-change vulnerability of this class of ecosystems. *YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER TO JOIN THIS WEBINAR VIA WEBEX **TO REGISTER, PLEASE VISIT: **https://doilearn.webex.com/doilearn/j.php?ED=262691387&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D* <https://doilearn.webex.com/doilearn/j.php?ED=262691387&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D> *CLOSED CAPTIONING* will be provided. After joining the webinar, please open another web browser and go to: http://fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=2310859&CustomerID=321 <http://fedrcc.us/Enter.aspx?EventID=2310859&CustomerID=321> THIS WEBINAR WILL BE RECORDED *If you cannot attend the webinar, it will be posted, with closed captioning, approximately 1-2 weeks after the presentation is given and posted on the NCCWSC website: https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/webinar/304 *UPCOMING NCCWSC WEBINARS* For the schedule of upcoming webinars in the NCCWSC Climate Change Science and Management Webinar Series, please click here:https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/webinars Learn more about NCCWSC at https://nccwsc.usgs.gov and the CSCs at http://www.doi.gov/csc/index.cfm.
