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Adaptation

Climate Change Adaption Management

While some terrestrial and freshwater species may have an inherent capability to adapt through evolutionary, behavioural, ecological and/or physiological mechanisms, many more will require management intervention to increase their resilience to the negative impacts of climate change, and to maintain ecosystem services. Adaptation options could include:

Landscape Management 

  • Identifying and protecting climate change refugia181,208 – refugia are areas in the landscape that are buffered from extreme weather by features such as a dense canopy and heterogenous topography182.
  • Facilitating the inherent adaptive capacity of species and increasing population sizes by habitat restoration183,184, and by increasing and managing landscape connectivity183,184.
  • Flexible management of protected areas in light of climatic changes – acknowledgement that novel communities will arise due to range shifts in both native and exotic species185.
  • Managing other stressors – such as reducing exotic
pest and predator species, soil and water degradation, reversing over-harvesting, managing grazing pressure, and managing risks of adverse fire regimes186.

 

Species-specific Managment

  • Microhabitat manipulation – such as provision of shaded nest boxes for birds, bats and possums187 etc, artificial shelters such as log piles and pond sites for reptiles and frogs, and misting/sprinkling for frogs188.

  • Genetic translocation189,190 – moving individuals/genes between populations to increase genetic diversity
and resilience to environmental change. Assisted colonisation191,192,193 – moving plants or animals from areas which have become climatically unstable to a new sites, outside their current range, where conditions are expected to be suitable.

  • Ex-situ conservation strategies194 – seedbanking (storing seeds or other germplasm in vaults for future replanting), captive breeding of endangered species60.

 

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