Seasonal changes in the snowpack have a profound influence on the movement, energy expenditure, and population dynamics of wildlife occupying snow-covered regions. However, in areas with sparse meteorologic data and complex terrain, the key process governing snowpack properties remain poorly understood. As a result, there is considerable uncertainty in the understanding of how snowpack dynamics impact wildlife populations. Thus, the impacts of climate change on wildlife inhabiting snowy landscapes are difficult to predict.

Our project seeks to understand the key factors driving snow processes, with the goal of determining which snow properties are most important for wildlife applications. Through these investigations, we aim to improve the understanding of how snowpack dynamics affect wildlife. This research builds on prior work from the Dall Sheep Project and the Washington Predator-Prey Project.

Our approach

We integrate local and regional scale remotely sensed data (for example, satellite imagery) to model the 3-dimensional structure of the snowpack as it evolves through the winter, and we validate these models with ground-based measurements. We then analyze data from GPS-collared animals to investigate how their movement and survival patterns are affected by snowpack characteristics that we obtain from our modeled snowpack products and direct measurements. Our work is advancing the modeling techniques used to map snowpack structure, the understanding of meteorological elements that drive snowpack evolution, and the role of these factors in wildlife dynamics.
Picture
Illustration: Sarah K. Glaser

Study System

Our research focuses on the mountainous regions of the Pacific Northwest with study systems in and around Denali National Park, Alaska, the east slope of the North Cascades (Methow Valley/Okanogan), Washington, and Northeastern Washington. These regions encompass tundra, boreal, prairie, and montane forest snow regimes and support diverse wildlife communities. We primarily evaluate the effects of snow on Dall sheep, caribou, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, wolves, cougars, coyotes, and bobcats, and the interactions between these species.
This research is primarily funded by NASA's Interdisciplinary Science Program (IDS) and Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE). We receive additional support from the Graubard Fellowship in the Program on Climate Change at the University of Washington.
photo: Jessica Lundquist