Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Loss of biodiversity is occurring at unprecedented rates with an estimated 1 million species facing global extinction. Canada has the second largest amount of intact natural landscapes and, therefore, a responsibility and opportunity to be a global leader in biodiversity conservation. Yet, Canada is facing a biodiversity crisis that particularly targets reptiles, one of the most endangered groups of vertebrates in the world and the most endangered in Canada. Continued reptile declines are the result of multiple stressors, including land use and climate change, which continue to accelerate, resulting in changes that are unprecedented in human history. Ultimately, failure to address the biodiversity crisis will be costly as declines in ecosystem biodiversity negatively impact food production, human health, and water quality, posing direct and indirect socio-economic consequences. Biodiversity loss remains a key challenge in wildlife conservation and the cumulative interaction among multiple threats requires transformative conservation and management strategies that cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The proposed research of the Canada Research Chair in Wildlife Ecohydrology and Global Change aims to advance our understanding of the spatiotemporal effects of climate-mediated disturbances on the resilience and vulnerability of reptile habitat to support evidence-based policies for the conservation and management of species at risk. To do this, a unique interdisciplinary and multi-scale assessment will be used to (1) understand how wildfires impact the use and function of reptile habitat. Because the detection and prediction of climate refugia will be key in guiding management decisions, (2) the spatiotemporal effects of extreme winter weather events and summer drought conditions on reptile habitat will also be mapped across multiple scales. Finally, to enhance resilience of degraded ecosystems to climate change, (3) novel habitat restoration strategies will be tested in landscapes facing multiple disturbances. To support this field-based science, the Wildlife Ecohydrology and Conservation Lab will be established at University of Waterloo. By understanding the breadth and interconnected nature of ecohydrological feedbacks that control habitat suitability and the effects of changing environmental conditions, global reptile declines could be halted and reversed, positioning Canada as a leader in biodiversity conservation.