9:00 am - 10:00 am
Event details: A graduate exam seminar is a presentation of the student’s final research project for their degree. This is an ALES PhD Final Exam Seminar by Jessica Stolar. This seminar is open to the general public to attend.
Zoom Link: https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/98123069466
PhD with Dr. Scott Nielsen.
Thesis Topic: Conservation planning for rare vascular plant and butterfly habitat in Alberta under climate change
Abstract:
Stewarding Alberta’s biodiversity requires identifying and prioritizing species and places most vulnerable to the cumulative effects of climate change and human footprint. The goals of this dissertation were to rank the vulnerability of rare vascular plants and butterflies in Alberta and to assess the spatial prioritization of climate-resilient conservation and restoration actions across the province. First, I tested a new method to account for sampling bias in presence-only data due to variations in effort by explicitly incorporating these biases in species distribution models. Second, I predicted the impacts of climate change on the potential habitat for rare vascular plants and butterflies in Alberta to rank their vulnerability. Third, I identified spatial priorities of high conservation value for protection or restoration based on both current and future habitats of those species. Climate-resilient conservation gaps were identified in areas vulnerable to development, especially in the Grassland, Parkland, and Foothills natural regions. Finally, I examined the trade-off between migration rate and climate change velocity in Alberta for a single focal species, the Northern Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis), which occurs in a narrow range of fragmented grassland-forest ecotone. Survival of L. ligulistylis through the end of the century in Alberta may require assisted migration given the rate of climate change and the lack of native stepping-stone habitats available to it.
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