How Climate Change Affects Wildlife in Michigan

With Bianca Eckert, Sarah Hill and Makaila Gaston

Introduction

When presented with the topic of climate change and how it has affected wildlife, we wanted to dig a little deeper into the subject and how it has affected wildlife specifically, in Michigan.

Sometimes the topic of Climate Change can seem like something far removed. However, wildlife in Michigan are already starting to see severe consequences from the ever-changing climate. In order to understand the issue of climate change and how it affects wildlife in Michigan specifically, we gathered research from well respected organizations, spoke to experts and crowd-sourced individuals in Oakland County, a county in the metropolitan Detroit area. All of this was in an effort to not only understand climate change better but to devise solutions for humans to combat this issue.

A deer on a hiking trail in Rochester Hills, Michigan on Tuesday, November 16, 2021. Deer frequent this heavily trafficked hiking trail.

While doing this, our goal has also been to raise awareness as throughout our studies we learned that while people in our community know what climate change is, they don’t really understand why or how it is happening, how they are affected, and what can be done to help make a difference for animals, ourselves and our planet. Throughout our project, we gathered information by talking to our community, interviewing two people who currently work for wildlife rehabilitation and nature centers, and also gathered information through various sources throughout our research.

Research

For starters, we know that Michigan has warmed 2-3 degrees fahrenheit in the last century. These rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns have affected birds’ ability to find food and reproduce, which in time will impact local populations. Some species may even go extinct if they can not adapt to these changing conditions. The same climate change driven threats that put birds at risk harm people as well, such as drought; which destroys water and food resources for many species. False springs, which are unseasonably warm, mild winter days, force plants into early flowering. Increases in wildfires that incinerate habitats, and if they burn repeatedly, prevents recovery. Heavy rainfall can flood nests and prevent parents from feeding their chicks. Not only are birds being affected by climate change in Michigan, but fish and deer are among those affected as well.

65% of Michigan’s birds could go extinct if nothing is done about the current greenhouse gas emissions.

Lastly, in regards to Michigan species, we must give some attention to the deer population. Deer are more likely to reproduce in warmer weather, and are less likely to be taken out by harsh weather conditions or coyotes (which previously helped balance the deer population). The overpopulation of deer has led to a spread of diseases among the deer population. This overabundance of deer is most likely due to the fact that Michigan has warmed 2-3 degrees fahrenheit in the last century. Because of this it is important to gather data and further research to understand what we can do to help our wildlife and environment.

Wild turkeys grazing in a Farmington Hills, Michigan suburb on Sunday, November 26, 2021. In 1900 wild turkeys were thought to be extinct in Michigan due to habitat loss and unregulated hunting.

Gathering Data

To advance our research even further, it was important to speak to not only experts but people in our community. One of the issues that was important to help us understand the research a little better, was to gauge our community’s understanding and feelings about the subject matter. We compiled a list of questions and gathered answers from people in Oakland County, Michigan. The questions were the following: “Do you know what climate change is?”, “Are you affected by climate change?” And lastly, “Do you believe that climate change and its effect on wildlife is a crisis?”

Bar graphs were created to represent the data collected in the study. While 88.5% of the respondents said they know what Climate Change is, only 53.8% believe they are impacted by it.

In addition, there were also two interviews conducted with Evin Leur, a wildlife and education manager at Howell Nature Center in Howell, MI, and Keirstie Carducci, the owner of Out-Back Wildlife Rehab Center in Ottawa Lake, MI. Both Evin and Keirstie were able to provide us more insight as experts and veterans in their field. They touched on the current crisis of wildlife compared to when they originally became involved with rehabilitation, and it is their opinion that it is getting increasingly worse. Keriste stated, “I can remember, not too long ago, maybe ten years ago, I got one squirrel in the fall. I now have 100 in my barn right now.” However, though wildlife is becoming more endangered, Evin and Keirstie do believe that with the help of individuals, the issue can become either better or stagnant.

An emu from Out-Back Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Ottawa Lake, Michigan on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. Kerstie Carducci, owner of Out-Back Rehabilitation Center, rescued this emu earlier that day.

Ottawa Lake police officers and professionals from Out-Back Wildlife Rehabilitoin center with an emu after capturing it on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 in Ottawa Lake, Michigan.

What can be done to limit the consequences of climate change?

Sometimes climate change can seem like something that is not a part of our everyday lives, it can be a topic that seems far removed. However, individuals like Keirstie and Evin that we had the pleasure of interviewing, who work at centers that rehabilitate animals, would disagree. Wildlife in Michigan are already seeing the devastating consequences from ever-changing climate, such as deer, birds and fish. So what can we do to help? From our interview with Evin, we learned that giving wildlife their space and not forcing interactions with them is one way to help. She also recommended reaching out to wildlife centers if you see an injured animal. We also had some important input from our interviewee, Kerstie, who said another way to help is to stop deforestation and building on these species land, which causes devastation to these animals. They cannot help themselves, so we must be the ones to step up and make a difference.

After our interviews with Keirstie and Evin, we were inspired to create an infographic to illustrate the effects of Climate Change on wildlife in Michigan. The bottom of the graphic contains some suggestions for mitigating the effects of climate change on animals in your area.