Scenarios for Survival of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Funding Year: 2016
Research Areas: Natural Capital
Regions: North America
Combining the Distribution of Semi-Aquatic Mammal Populations with Ecohydrologic Analysis
Climate change and human activities such as hydropower development have created ecological impacts and habitat loss at the Peace-Athabasca Delta in northeastern Alberta, Canada, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Exploring the effects of climate change and human activity on one of the planets largest inland deltas is critical to understanding, mitigating, and adapting to ecohydrologic changes and preserving biodiversity in this and other parts of the world. This project will combine hydrologic modeling and population dynamics of the muskrat, a semi-aquatic rodent whose abundance is indicative of habitat health, to investigate the impacts of these stressors on the ecosystem. Researchers will also account for impacts by and upon aboriginal peoples subsistence and commercial trapping due to changes in muskrat demography.
Learn more about the Environmental Venture Projects grant program and other funded projects.
Principal Investigators:
Steve Gorelick, Cyrus Fisher Tolman Professor in the School of Earth Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Elizabeth Hadly, Paul S. and Billie Achilles Professor in Environmental Biology, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Geological Sciences
Related News
Downstream of hydroelectric dams and Alberta’s oil sands, one of the world’s largest freshwater deltas is drying out. New Stanford University research suggests long-term drying is making it harder for muskrats to recover from massive die-offs. It’s a sign of threats to come for many other species.
Ward's research examines the impacts of climate change and local hydropower development on muskrats living in Canada’s Peace-Athabasca Delta.
The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment announces 2016 Environmental Venture Projects and Realizing Environmental Innovation Program grants.