Approach
Certain wildlife species can act as "ecosystem engineers" by actively creating the conditions that favor their persistence. Other wildlife species may benefit when these engineer species or groups of species are maintained or restored to an area (Heller and Zavaleta 2009, Kreyling et al. 2011).
Tactics
- Restore large grazers such as bison in order to sustain savanna and grassland habitats.
- Protect prairie dogs in order to provide a prey source and burrows for other species.
- Maintain non-native flowering species that are sustaining native insects, such as non-native milkweed being used by monarch butterflies.
Strategy Text
Wildlife species succeed or struggle based on numerous interactions with other species, including other animals that may be predators, prey, or competitors; plants that may be sources of food or cover; and other organisms such as those that cause disease. This Strategy contains a variety of considerations for managing the web of interactions that may influence how a species is able to tolerate continued climate change.
Citation
LeDee, O.E., Handler, S.D., Hoving, C.L., Swanston, C.W. and Zuckerberg, B. 2021. Preparing Wildlife for Climate Change: How Far Have We Come? Jour. Wild. Mgmt., 85: 7-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21969