Protecting Wildlife in a Changing Climate

American Museum of Natural History

This video presents predictions and solutions for range shifts (wildlife corridors) by an iconic species of North American wilderness: the wolverine.

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Notes from our reviewers

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Could be included as part of a larger unit on the impact of climate change on wildlife species. Could be coupled with maps for students to outline model predictions of impacted areas and investigate the advantages of protected areas where people can live and animals can travel safely.
As the global climate changes, wild animals are shifting where they live, even beyond the protected areas that are crucial to their survival. This video highlights predictions and solutions for range shifts by the wolverine. Comments from expert scientist: Very concise, with only a few, clearly defined thought steps (data input, conclusions) to discuss. There could be more documentation about data sources, references, etc. The data documentation is incomplete: temperatures 1980-2009 are referenced "relative to average" but it's not said which period was used to calculate the average.
A good background essay is provided for teachers and students. The wolverine is an engaging animal for students. A brief synopsis in a downloadable Science bulletin [link http://www.amnh.org/content/download/43199/656482/file/AMNH_BioViz-Wildlife-CC_Backgrounder.pdf] is available, explaining more completely the video content. Related links, credits, and data sources are also provided.