- Crausbay and Hotchkiss's research focused on high-elevation forests, shrublands and grasslands in Hawaii.
Botany dissertator Shelley Crausbay and her advisor Professor Sara Hotchkiss have discovered that the vegetation of high-elevation cloud forests, alpine shrublands and grasslands in Hawaii is influenced by both altitude and prevailing winds and therefore, both these factors must be taken into account when modeling responses to climate change.
Their research, which will appear in the Journal of Biogeography, focused on the upper cloud forest limit on Haleakalā on the island of Maui, which includes some of the best remaining habitat for many endangered plant and animal species.
Crausbay's data show a strong correlation between modern vegetation and climate variation and, thus, provide a foundation for predicting high-elevation vegetation changes in tropical latitudes.
Land managers in Haleakala National Park, Hanawi Natural Area Reserve and TNC's Waikamoi Preserve will incorporate these observations into monitoring and management plans for vegetation and endangered bird species.