Climate Change and Sentinel Monitoring Work Group

Purpose

The purpose of the Climate Change and Sentinel Monitoring Work Group (CCSM) is to assist the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) Management Conference in developing, maintaining, and enhancing a dynamic climate change monitoring program for the ecosystems of the Long Island Sound (LIS) and its coastal ecoregions. The CCSM will oversee implementation of a broader dynamic monitoring program to evaluate and make recommendations regarding the scope and magnitude of potential climate change impacts to LISS, and develop adaptive management strategies to address the impacts.

Objectives

• Develop and advance a Climate Change and Sentinel Monitoring network
• Identify opportunities for collaboration(s) to establish critical research programs (that do not already exist), foster needed technological advancements, and implement long term monitoring and modelling
• Track and evaluate the latest climate change science to make recommendations and coordinated sharing of information with Management Committee and workgroup co-chairs.

Goals

• Collect and synthesize data that will indicate how LIS and its associated habitats, biota and processes are changing.
• Utilize climate change sentinel data to provide scientists and managers with the information necessary to prioritize climate change impacts and determine appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies for these impacts to the LIS ecosystem. These impacts include but are not limited to: loss or changes in ecosystem functions and processes; disruption in fisheries, aquaculture and other economic commodities; and changes in species population dynamics, including both the loss of and introduction of new species.
• Coordinate amongst LISS and our partners working in related fields to assure “whole” health of the system is accounted for.

Work Group Members

Connecticut Co-chair

New York Co-chair

Samarra Scantlebury, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
samarra.scantlebury@dec.ny.gov