Weather, Climate and Wildlife

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WEATHER, CLIMATEANDWILDLIFE VOL. 12, issue 1 E cover. changes Winds andstormscancauseday-to-day temperature, precipitation,airpressureandcloud and theanimals foundinthem. and forests.Theseimpacts canchangewildlifehabitat stronger storms.Stronger stormsaffectstreams,rivers and becomewarmer. Warmer oceans,inturn,cancause rise, theoceansabsorb more heatfromtheatmosphere somewhere else.For example,whenairtemperatures precipitation inoneplacecanleadtootherchanges another. Thismeansachangeintemperatureor Earth’s air, waterandlandareallrelated toone around theworldiscalledglobalclimate. The of whichsupportdifferenttypeswildlife. called atundra,desert,prairie,forestorrainforest, all precipitation. Thesedeterminewhetheraregion is categories orzonesbasedonaveragetemperatureand have sortedtheEarth’s regionalclimatesinto that timeofyear. Climatescientists(climatologists) compared tothewarm,humidclimateinFloridaat climate inNewHampshireiscoldandsnowy years, itiscalled“climate.”For example,thewinter What isClimate? affect you–ithasabigimpactonwildlife,too. the nextyearverylittlesnow. Weather doesn’t just example, oneyearwemighthaveasnowywinterand conditions canchangefromoneyeartothenext.For Earth’s positionasitrotatesaroundthesun.Weather in theweather. Seasonalchangeshappenbecauseofthe the atmosphereatanytime,includingthingslike do basedontheweather. Weather isthestateof very dayyougetupanddecidewhattowearor Now forthebigpicture.Theaverageclimate When weatherisaveragedoveratleastthirty Sun, Rain, Snow and Wildlife nderstanding how weather affects animals is important to fisheries and wildlife biologists. Temperature and pre- U cipitation (rain and snow) can have an impact on how many animals survive in a particular year. Biologists collect weather data and use it to help predict wildlife populations.

Warm, dry weather in May and June means more young turkeys (poults).

Heavy snow cover and cold temperatures through March and April often decrease white-

tailed deer populations. © Bruce M acqueen / D reams t ime.com © Bruce M acqueen / dreams t ime.com

Hot summer weather can make surface water temperatures too warm for brook trout to survive. © R ichard Gunion / D reams t ime.com Sun, Rain, Snow and I The of Future I Wildlife I Wildlife in a I Changing Climate

Warming trends ver the past 110 years, the average New Hamp- are good for some shire temperature increased by 3.5º F. That might animals. Turkey O not sound like much, but this change has resulted vultures, once in a decrease in the number of days we have snow on thought of as a the ground and ice covering our lakes. Our weather southern bird, is not just warmer, it’s wilder, too. During the past are now seen fifteen years, New Hampshire has experienced severe throughout New ice and rain storms. Hampshire. How does this affect wildlife? Habitats that have narrow temperature and water requirements may be the first to be impacted. In New Hampshire, these include the alpine zone (the top of mountains where

-sa/2.0/deed.en there are no trees), high- and low-elevation spruce-fir forests, coastal islands, vernal pools (temporary water) and aquatic habitats. If the warming trends continue, we don’t know

t ivecommons.or g /licenses/ by r a d io C spruce, fir and sugar maple – C -B Y -S A and the animals that depend 2 .c o m * on them. We do know that if you change the habitat, t ure license: h tt p://crea you will change the animals that live there. t urke y vul © Bruce M acqueen / D reams t ime.com

Alpine butterflies like White Mountain fritillary may be the first to disappear as warmer temperatures change their habitat. © R ichard Gunion / D reams t ime.com mcfarland pho t o © ken t mcfarland The endangered marbled salamander may increase its numbers

with warming / dreams t ime.com © Mg kuijpers temperatures.

Moose are perfectly adapted for extreme cold, but have a tough time handling the heat.

Purple finch, our State Bird, is shifting further northward, and may not be able to nest in the state if average temperatures get too warm.

© Cephas CC -BY-SA 3 © K aido ärner / dreams t ime.com louds play a complex role in climate. They are the source of precipitation, affect the amount of energy from the sun that reaches the Earth’s surface, and insulate the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere. Conditions on Earth affect the amount and types of clouds that form overhead. This helps shape the local climate. Clouds come in three altitude ranges: • High clouds are over 6,000 meters and have the prefix “cirrus” or “cirro.” • Middle clouds are between 2,000-6,000 meters and have the prefix “alto.” • Low clouds are below 2,000 meters. The types of clouds you see often depends on the weather conditions. By paying attention to the clouds, you can predict the weather!

Cumulus Cirrus Fluffy white clouds Commonly referred (heaped and puffy), to as “mares’ tails,” with dark bases, wispy cirrus clouds usually mean fair are created by tiny weather. beads of ice and are often seen before a cold front. © Mayang Mu r ni A dnin 2001-2010 © Mayang © Mayang Mu r ni A dnin 2001-2010 © Mayang

Stratocumulus Stratus Low, water-carrying These layered clouds mean that clouds look like it is probably a gray layered raining, snowing or blanket and can drizzling. bring rain or snow. © f r eebigpictu e s .co m © f r eebigpictu e s .co m

Altocumulus Altostratus Parallel bands or Gray or blue gray, rounded masses these clouds cover of shaded clouds, the whole sky and altocumulus clouds usually form ahead are often seen in of a storm. The sun advance of a cold or moon may shine front. through them, but

Cumulonimbus Nimbostratus Sometimes called Heavy dark clouds “thunderheads,” that usually appear these towering before rain or clouds may rise snow; common in to 75,000 feet winter. s la r / d ea ms ti m e.co

s Ha and often bring thunderstorms. © Mayang Mu r ni A dnin 2001-2010 © Mayang © T o m a Catch A Snowflake! now is formed when the weather is cold and tiny amounts (mol- S ecules) of water from cloud droplets are attracted to dust particles. EXAMINING SNOWFLAKES This creates ice crystals, or snowflakes, which become larger as more MATERIALS: water molecules are added. The type of crystals determines whether the • black paper or black fabric snow is dry, powdery and easy to shovel, or heavy, wet snow that’s great • magnifying glass for building snowmen. PROCESS: • Place the black paper or fabric in Types of Snow Crystals the freezer for a couple hours. • Take the black paper or fabric out of the freezer and put it outside when it’s snowing. • Let some snowflakes land on the paper or fabric. • Use the magnifying glass to see the beautiful shapes.

Stellar (star-shaped) crystals Spatial dendrites are feathery stellar are shaped like a star, with six points crystals with other points projecting from coming from the center. Often seen as a each of the six original points. snowstorm begins.

Capped columns Hexagonal are a combination plate crystals of a column crystal are six-sided, flat with a hexagonal crystals with varying plate crystal at degrees of design. either end. Seen less often.

Needles are long, slender s yx / d r ea ms ti m e.co six-sided columns with fine points © qwa projecting from To learn more about snow crystals either end. These Irregular crystals and snowflakes and how they Column crystals are extremely are are plate-like crystals are created, log onto Professor are very small six-sided common and can that are joined together, columns with flat or account for much of sometimes forming large Kenneth G. Libbrecht’s website at: pointed ends. the accumulation. flakes. www.snowcrystals.com all s nowflake i m age cou r te y of K ennet h G . L ibb ec t

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