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Impact of Climate Change Shifts on Small Mammals in the Colorado Rockies, by Dr. Christy McCain

This meeting will be held online. See below for Zoom link and telephone access info.

Do you ever wonder how those beautiful mammals you see on hikes in Colorado are affected by warming temperatures? Dr. Christy McCain asked that question nearly a decade and a half ago and has been working on it ever since. We now have some answers. Many of the high mountain mammals that you know and love—squirrels, chipmunks, marmots—as well as ones you may never have seen—pygmy shrews, montane shrews, long-tailed voles are moving their populations to higher elevations. In this talk, we will learn about how mammals are responding to climate change in Colorado, and also discuss changes to mountain mammals around the world. There is so much you can do to help mammals and other montane organisms by more efficient use of energy.

Golden-mantled ground squirrel, Rocky Mountain National Park. Credit: Dr. Christy McCain

Least Chipmunk, Larimer County

Credit: McCain Lab

Dr. Christy McCain is a biologist and professor at CU Boulder in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. She is also the curator of the vertebrate collections at the CU Museum of Natural History. She received her undergraduate degree from Humboldt State University in Northern California with a double major in Wildlife Biology and Fine Art. After working in Honduras as a Natural Resources & Protected Areas Specialist with the Peace Corps for a few years, she began a PhD at the University of Kansas studying the mammals on Costa Rican mountains. She began the McCain Mountain Lab at CU in 2008 where they research mammals, birds, insects, and lichens on the mountains around the world and how those montane population are influenced by climate change.

Dr. Christy McCain performing mammal surveys.

Meeting Access:

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Meeting ID: 830 4922 7905
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Wings of Spring: Waterfowl Watching

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Sandstone Ranch with Carl Starace