Abstract

Climate change and its impact on natural environments are critical issues facing resource and ecosystem managers throughout the world and specifically in the Pacific U.S. region. The key goals of this study are 1) to understand how changes in the Earth’s future climate system will affect the frequency and severity of extreme weather events in Hawai`i, 2) to support studies of the ecological impacts of climate change on native Hawaiian plants and animals and 3) to provide information needed by natural resource managers charged with preserving native biodiversity. To achieve these goals, this project will build on a previous Pacific Island Climate Change Cooperative (PICCC) project to update climate change projections (using a technique called statistical downscaling) for Hawai`i. With collaboration from partners at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Hawai`i at Hilo, researchers will also assess species and ecosystem responses to potential climate variations, such as the recurrence and intensity of heat waves, droughts, and storms.