Scholarlink

<p>Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity, but their ecological impacts remain less well understood than those of gradual climate change, largely owing to the challenge of studying unpredictable, short-lived events. The 2021 western North American heatwave is among the most extreme on record globally, yet a broad assessment of its ecological consequences is lacking. Here we synthesize meteorological, ecological, hydrological and wildfire data, along with process-based modelling, to quantify the heatwave and its impacts across the region. Our meta-analysis of 32 terrestrial and marine taxa reveals that over 75% were negatively impacted, but species responses ranged widely, from 99% declines to 89% increases. This variability reflects differences in organisms’ thermal sensitivities, response capacities and exposures, with the latter dependent on geography, microclimate and refugia. Impacts tended to be greater for sessile marine invertebrates, algae and plants than for birds and mammals. At the ecosystem scale, changes in gross primary productivity ranged from 30% increases in cooler, wetter areas to 75% decreases in warmer, arid ones. Streamflow from snow and ice melt increased 40% during the heatwave before dropping below average, whereas wildfire activity surged 37% during the heatwave and 395% the following week. Our results underscore the urgent need for enhanced coordinated approaches to predict, detect and manage increasing heatwaves.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Widespread ecological responses and cascading effects of the 2021 western North American heatwave

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月11日

查看全文
  • Julia K. Baum,
  • Margaret A. Slein,
  • Josef C. Garen,
  • Zihaohan Sang,
  • Sandra Emry,
  • Katie J. A. Goodwin,
  • Courtney G. Collins,
  • Jayme Lewthwaite,
  • Michelle Tseng,
  • Sean T. Michaletz,
  • A. Cole Burton,
  • Christopher D. G. Harley,
  • Diane S. Srivastava,
  • Paul K. Abram,
  • Amy L. Angert,
  • Erin Bayne,
  • Lori D. Daniels,
  • Sarah Dickson-Hoyle,
  • Heather Earle,
  • Michelle T. Franklin,
  • Alyssa-Lois M. Gehman,
  • Tazarve Gharajehdaghipour,
  • Dexter Hodder,
  • Lionel Leston,
  • Alison McAfee,
  • Matthew G. E. Mitchell,
  • Ken A. Otter,
  • Tamara Richardson,
  • Jordan Rosenfeld,
  • Gillian Sadlier-Brown,
  • Pablo Sandoval-Acuña,
  • Carolyn Shores,
  • Samuel Starko,
  • Jason Thiessen,
  • Brian Timmer,
  • Katie Tjaden-McClement,
  • Sunny Tseng,
  • Yonathan Uriel,
  • Bert William

摘要

Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity, but their ecological impacts remain less well understood than those of gradual climate change, largely owing to the challenge of studying unpredictable, short-lived events. The 2021 western North American heatwave is among the most extreme on record globally, yet a broad assessment of its ecological consequences is lacking. Here we synthesize meteorological, ecological, hydrological and wildfire data, along with process-based modelling, to quantify the heatwave and its impacts across the region. Our meta-analysis of 32 terrestrial and marine taxa reveals that over 75% were negatively impacted, but species responses ranged widely, from 99% declines to 89% increases. This variability reflects differences in organisms’ thermal sensitivities, response capacities and exposures, with the latter dependent on geography, microclimate and refugia. Impacts tended to be greater for sessile marine invertebrates, algae and plants than for birds and mammals. At the ecosystem scale, changes in gross primary productivity ranged from 30% increases in cooler, wetter areas to 75% decreases in warmer, arid ones. Streamflow from snow and ice melt increased 40% during the heatwave before dropping below average, whereas wildfire activity surged 37% during the heatwave and 395% the following week. Our results underscore the urgent need for enhanced coordinated approaches to predict, detect and manage increasing heatwaves.