Stephen Hale

Professor Hunter

Eng 1201 Online

10 February 2019

Annotated Bibliography

My research paper will prove climate change to be affecting of most precious resource;

our national parks. I want to learn more about how minute shifts in climate patterns can cause

catastrophic, long term effects on nature’s most vulnerable. And, how I can better educate others

on why something seemingly so far out of touch to us is actually very important to our nation’s

health.

Beissinger, S., Ackerly, D., Doremus, H. and Machlis, G. (2018). Science, conservation, and

national parks. University of Chicago Press, pp.623–624.

This book titled “Science, Conservation, and National Parks” was written by Steven

Beissinger, David Ackerly, Holly Doremus, and Gary Machlis. It was published in 2017 by

Chicago Scholarship Online. The project was the result of a research project funded and staffed

by students of UC Berkeley and published by University of Chicago Press. The thesis of the

book is examine major challenges of parks and protected areas worldwide thus promoting and

sustaining their ecological integrity and by inspiring active engagement amongst an increasingly

urbanized society. The authors elaborate on four main sections concerning US national parks: (1)

The mission and relevance of national parks in maintaining protected areas, (2) Stewardship of

parks in a world that is changing by monitoring climate change, air pollution, invasive species
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and conservation of large mammals, (3) Engaging people in parks to connect man and nature,

and (4) The future of science and parks considering how they may coevolve.

The authors wanted to write this book because it’s combining today’s research,

conversations and issues with credible data legitimizing concerns for climate change and

society’s disengagement with the outdoors. Excerpts of Science, conservation, and national

parks were initially shared at the Berkeley summit in 2015 and later compiled and made a

available to the general public. I can see people passionate about the national parks reading it or

even a Sierra Club. The website is credible because the book was recently published with

multiple authors contributing. The topic is relevant and this article will be the foundation for my

paper. Data is accurate since it was published by University of Chicago Press and presented at

the UC Berkeley Summit 2015. A large portion of my paper will gather information from this

site for it is most relevant of all my sources. It will help me to prove climate change’s effects on

the national parks.

Collins, J. and Collins, M. (2017). CRASH! The Alaskan Bush Hits Climate Change... or

Does it? (U.S. National Park Service). [online] Nps.gov. Available at:

https://www.nps.gov/articles/aps-v14-i1-c3.htm [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].

The article, “CRASH! The Alaskan Bush Hits Climate Change... or Does it?” was written

by Miki and Julie Collins. It is found in volume 14 issue 1 of a U.S. National Park Service series

on Research Management in a Changing World. Miki and Julie live in remote Lake Minchumina

near Denali National Park observing environmental change. Their article focuses on changes

occurring within the park and how symptoms relate to climate change. They present only

observations and leave the reader to make a conclusion. Studying precipitation and temperature
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and its effect on trapping, hunting, fishing and harvesting have all experienced abnormal shifts in

the last forty years. For example, whitefish populations have decreased over the decades due to

lower water levels with many of the smaller bodies of water now landlocked.

The authors of the article are reporting detailed observations only those that live with that

land are capable in doing. The U.S. National Parks Service published the article for few people

live, study and work in the Alaskan wilderness like Miki and Julie. This was written as a part of

the national park’s initiative to monitor each park. The audience would be from anyone curious

how climate change affects a self sustaining ecosystem to analyst experts monitoring shifting

weather patterns. As to the credibility of Miki and Julie’s article, it is written more informal than

an article found on Sinclair’s database but yet it was published by the U.S. National Park Service

with proper citations and references. It was written in late 2017 with a clear purpose to discuss

their observations.

The article is relevant to my research paper and I will use some of their detailed findings.

Only I wish they had made a conclusion to tie it all together. I will use information gathered

from other sources and perhaps use an example from this article.

Estrada, A. and Real, R. (2018). Assessment of the National Park network of mainland Spain by

the Insecurity Index of vertebrate species. PLOS ONE, 13(5), pp.1, 10-12.

The academic journal was written by Alba Estrada and Raimundo Real who are a part of

the biogeography, Diversity and Conservation Research Team at the University of Ma´laga,

Spain and published by PLoS ONE journal 13, issue 5. The article cited is titled “Assessment of

the National Park network of mainland Spain by the Insecurity Index of vertebrate species” and

was published May of 2018. The main point of the journal is the result of a study/evaluation of
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37 species in Spain’s National Parks which will aid biologists knowing what species are

currently present, but also species that have a potential to be present due to favorability.

Favorable areas of a particular species which there has been no recording leads to conclude that

the environment is not suitable for the species (ex. The Iberian Lynx). The study used the

Insecurity index to measure species distribution and density. Species that were chosen were of

high, relevant natural value.

The author wrote the article because he is a part of a study evaluating Spain’s animal

population fluctuations. The audience is for those concerned or interested about Spain’s animal

population favorability, for scientists observing animal taxa or anyone monitoring species

populations and patterns.

The article is both relevant and credible. The author, Alba Estrada gives an in depth

evaluation with a complete bibliography and correct citations. His writing was published by

PLoS ONE, the property of the Public Library of Science. The article is relevant to my research

paper because it explains a method of studying animal populations and density while providing a

diverse scope of research since it focused on Spain’s National Parks. I will use how Estrada

discusses favorability (both natural and man-caused) to analyze the signs of climate change.

Horton, Alex. "Climate change is destroying our national parks at an alarming rate, study finds."

Washington Post, 25 Sept. 2018. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A555655899/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=

OVIC&xid=4208d503. Accessed 28 Jan. 2019.

Alex Horton is a journalist for The Washington Post and published a news article titled

“Climate change is destroying our national parks at an alarming rate, study finds” in September
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of 2018. The main point of the article discusses the issues climate change is already causing such

as rising temperatures causing glacial melts, the death of the Joshua tree and abnormal rain

patterns. Horton warns us the parks are most sensitive to shifts in climate and therefore are our

early warning signs. He uses strong rhetoric and blames us humans as the cause of climate

change.

Horton wishes to bring the cries of the wild to the attention of the public (hence the

strong rhetoric, looking for an emotional response) His audience are those following The

Washington Post or have concerns about climate change and wish to learn more. Horton does not

include citations at the end of the article yet throughout he uses quotes from his interviews. He

has current, accurate data and in my research I have heard similar points he is making. Because

of that, I think Horton is credible. Plus, he is backed by The Washington Post. I want to use this

article in my research paper because his effective integration of logos and pathos in his

argument. His writing supports my thesis.

How climate change is already impacting our National Parks | Jon Jarvis | TEDxMidAtlantic.

(2015). [video] Directed by J. Jarvis. TEDxMidAtlantic: Tedx Talks.

A Tedx Talk titled “How climate change is already impacting our National Parks” and

presented by Jon Jarvis. It was given to an audience in Atlanta in 2015. Jarvis spoke about

climate change as it directly impacts the national parks detailing challenges the parks face. He

discusses the history and impact of the national parks and effective park management such as fire

and natural population control. He explains trends in the surveys he has conducted such as

monitoring declining water content in the snowpack in the cascades. The data collected

concludes that climate change is occuring.

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The purpose of the talk was to present current, relevant data gathered from many national

parks to a general audience. Jarvis’ presentation was intended for scientific research and

educating those in the audience as well as anyone viewing the recording. The talk was geared

towards raising awareness for current park status’ presented in a simple, concrete manner. Jon

Jarvis is a credible, educated presenter for he has spent years in the field and is now the National

Park Service Director overseeing 22,000 employees, 401 national parks on a $3 billion budget.

He speaks with authority and passion. I would like to use the information in Jarvis’ talk because

it diversifies my sources, is connected to my topic and supports my argument.

Sheehan, Tim, et al. "Fire, CO2, and climate effects on modeled vegetation and carbon

dynamics in western Oregon and Washington." PLoS ONE, vol. 14, no. 1, 2019, p.

e0210989. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A571057301/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=

OVIC&xid=da71f5d5. Accessed 28 Jan. 2019.

The research article titled “Fire, CO2, and climate effects on modeled vegetation and

carbon dynamics in western Oregon and Washington” was written Tim Sheehan, Dominique

Bachelet and Ken Ferschweiler who work for the Conservation Biology Institute in Corvallis,

Oregon. Published through PLoS ONE, it’s found in volume 14, issue 1. The article observes

carbon dynamics of vegetation in the pacific northwest between 1895-2100 to better develop

effective long-term strategies combating climate change. Three main focuses of the article were

how climate affects important balance compositions with soil, how wildfires cause vegetation-

alteration and CO2’s effects of plant productivity. The study concluded that climate, not fires

drive vegetation change however, wildfires are projected to increase, emitting more CO2 into the

atmosphere.
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The article was the publication of the author’s research meant to educate the concerned

scientific communities on how vegetation show early signs of climate change. It is written for the

scientific community and published by PLoS ONE which is a community of researchers and data

analysts. The writers are Tim Sheehan, Dominique Bachelet and Ken Ferschweiler and have

written a credible research article because of the publication site and it’s funding by the U.S.

Department of the Interior Via the Northwest Climate Science Center. After the conclusion, there

is an extensive number of references and acknowledgements.

I would like to use this article for my research paper because it has a narrowed focus on

climate change affecting vegetation in the northwest U.S. I hope to use this article to prove my

thesis argument true and that us caretakers of our planet must take action.

Wu, Joanna X., et al. "Projected avifaunal responses to climate change across the U.S. National

Park System." PLoS ONE, vol. 13, no. 3, 2018, p. e0190557. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, http://link.galegroup.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/

A531797707/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=a2403f9e. Accessed 28 Jan. 2019.

“Projected avifaunal responses to climate change across the U.S. National Park System”

was written and edited by Joanna Wu, Chad Wilsey, Lotem Taylor and Gregor Schuurman. The

article appeared in volume 13 issue 3 of PloS ONE. It is a published survey observing the

adverse effects of climate change on birds in U.S. National Parks. Survey analyzed 513 species

over 274 national parks and classified each species as improving, worsening, stable, potential

colonization and potential extirpation. The parks are projected to become important sanctuaries

for birds as other natural habitats shrink. Birds are early responders to climate change therefore

their status is important and widely documented. Proactive action is essential in safeguarding our
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bird populations. The Leopold Report recognizes the importance of “stewardship for continuous

change” in preserving the ecosystems in natural parks for future generations, and emphasizes

preserving ecological integrity or the quality of self-sustaining and self-regulating ecosystems

rather than historical conditions.

The authors were publishing a broad study reporting information from multiple

ornithologists as a compiling effort to grasp how climate change is progressing. The audience is

anyone reading articles from PLoS ONE or interested in bird communities. The authors are

Joanna Wu, Chad Wilsey, Lotem Taylor and Gregor Schuurman. The writers and publicators we

know are credible because the information is correctly sourced and cited. The content is relevant

and accurate with well documented observations. This article will add an important component

to my research paper because it singles out birds as an essential early warning sign to climate

change. It’s information providing a roadmap better park management across the country.