Valerie Gardner
Factsheet
Climate Change Impacts on Great Lakes Wetlands and Migrating
Waterfowl
Plant Community Impacts
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are
increasing, which contributes to global
warming which causes changes in climate
and effects plant communities. Rising
temperature also contributes to rising sea
levels and dropping lake levels which
contribute to flooding and effects plant
growth and distribution. CO2 concentrations
also have a direct effect on plant
fertilization. Net photosynthesis and water
utilization in plants are directly affected by
changing levels in CO2. Depending on the
plant communities present in a wetland,
increases in CO2 will have a varying effect.
C3 plant species are more responsive than
C4 species to CO2 increases and wetlands
with a C3/C4 mix could see a rise in relative
abundance of C3 plants. However, C4 grass
species and invasive plants are likely to
invade and dominate areas affected by
drought disturbances. Both C3 and C4 plants
contribute to carbon sequestrating in
wetland habitats. (Land Trust Alliance,
2017)
Carbon Sequestration Impacts
One of the best natural habitats for
sequestering and storing carbon is wetlands.
Wetlands are providing long-term storage
for carbon from the atmosphere due to high
levels of photosynthesis. The carbon is
stored in the soils and due to slow
decomposition in anaerobic soils, can
remain long-term. When released, the stored
carbon takes the form of a greenhouse gas
like methane and nitrous oxide. When the
wetlands suffer from degradation or
drainage the soils decompose at higher rates
and the level of gasses released are
significantly higher. (NOAA, 2017)
Great Lakes Region Climate Change
Impacts
The Great Lakes region is projected to have
increased temperature. This will lead to
lower lake levels due to increased moisture
evaporation and less ice cover. Lower water
levels will likely reduce the recharge of
groundwater causing areas like small
tributary streams to dry up, reducing the
overall area of wetlands. Decreasing wetland
areas cause decreased flood absorbing
capacities which will cause increased
erosion, delayed acid rain recovery, and
further water pollution. High amounts of
evapotranspiration are also predicted for the
Great Lakes. (Mortsch, 1998) This will
cause existing wetland habitat to decrease
and likely dry up prairie potholes. Mudflats
will become increasingly exposed and
colonized by invasive plants, like
Phragmites australis, decreasing
biodiversity. Breeding sites for amphibians,
shorebirds, and waterfowl will be lost or
become unsafe from flood pulse changes,
lack of nesting material and poor water
quality. Intraspecific and interspecific
competition will increase due to the lack of
resources available. (BPC, 2008)
Waterfowl Importance
Each spring, waterfowl migrate in the
millions from their breeding ground in the
north to southern locations in search of food,
nesting ground, and other resources.
Consuming and distributing large amounts
of seeds contributes to waterfowls
ecological importance. Waterfowl are also
Valerie Gardner
Factsheet

cultural symbols and a valued resource.
There is an estimated $1.4B spent by
waterfowl hunters and an additional $41B
spent by birders annually. Shifts in
migration routes, migration timing, and
species range could have devastating
environmental and economic impacts.
(Notaro & Schummer, 2017) The number of
ducks could drop by 39% (BPC, 2008).
Changes in Migration
migration by Mallards and American black
duck by the late 21st century due to Great
Lake region temperature increase. This
could negatively impact economic gain from
hunting, birding tourism, and outdoor
recreation along the entire flyway migration
route. (Notaro & Schummer, 2017)
Waterfowl Biological Flyways

Source: https://necsc.umass.edu/webinars/wildlife-
implications-changing-winter-severity-great-lakes-
basin-collaborative

The most common waterfowl utilizing the

Source: Credit: Michael A Johnson, North Dakota
Great Lakes for breeding are Canada geese, Game and Fish https://flyways.us/flyways/info
mallards, wood ducks, blue-winged teal, and
ring-necked ducks. Canada geese, mallards,
gadwalls, pintails, canvasbacks, teals, scaup,
and tundra swans, commonly use the Great
Lakes as a staging area during migration in
the spring. (DU, 2007) Waterfowl that
utilize the Great Lakes during migration
follow two of the four North American
flyways; the Mississippi and the Atlantic.
Models have projects 4-5 week migration
delays. In some case no southward
Valerie Gardner
Factsheet

Citations:

Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). (2008). Seasons End Global Warmings Threat to Hunting and
Fishing. Edited by Wildlife Management Institute. Retrieved from:
https://www.tu.org/sites/default/files/offline/science/Seasons%20End.pdf accessed Nov.23, 2017

Ducks Unlimited, Inc. (DU). (2007) U.S. Great Lakes system. Retrieved from:
http://www.ducks.org/conservation/where-ducks-unlimited-works/us-great-lakes-system/saving-
great-lakes-wetlands 2007 accessed Nov. 26, 2017

Johnson, M. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2008). Biological flyways. Retrieved from
https://flyways.us/flyways/info accessed Nov. 25, 2017

Land Trust Alliance. Conservation in a changing climate: climate change impacts to grasslands.
Retrieved from: http://climatechange.lta.org/impacts-to-grasslands/ accessed Nov. 23, 2017

Mortsch, L. D. (1998). Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on the Great Lakes Shoreline
Wetlands. Climatic Change, 40(2),
391-416. Retrieved from http://rave.ohiolink.edu/ejournals/article/331893756 accessed Nov. 23,
2017

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2017). Carbon sequestering 101.
Retrieved from: http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/coastalcarbonsequestration.html accessed Nov. 24,
2017

Notaro, M & Schummer, M. Northeast Climate Science Center (NECSC). (2017, Oct. 7).
Wildlife Implications of Changing Winter Severity in the Great Lakes Basin: Collaborative
Investigation to Guide Regional Adaptation Planning [webinar]. In Northeast Climate Science
Center Webinar Series. Retrieved from: https://necsc.umass.edu/webinars/wildlife-implications-
changing-winter-severity-great-lakes-basin-collaborative accessed Nov. 23, 2017