Climate change has implications for wildlife survival worldwide. Changing precipitation and temperature patterns increase the frequency and severity of storms with significant impacts on watershed hydrologic processes that change the ecosystem characteristics at a landscape scale. Biota either adapts to the changes, shifts ranges, or becomes extinct or extirpated. Herpetofauna species are particularly vulnerable to these changes due to their physiology and natural history. Since reptiles and amphibians are vital components of ecosystems at large, there is a need to assess the impacts of climate change on their habitat. This study used a watershed-scale assessment of the Connecticut River watershed in the northeastern United States. The SWAT model with the Hydrologic and Water Quality System (HAWQS) interface is used to simulate watershed conditions under three scenarios: baseline, medium climate change (Representative Concentration Pathway—RCP 4.5), and high climate change (RCP 8.5). Species richness modeling from the Gap Analysis Program (GAP) is used as an indicator of herptile habitat suitability. Spatial overlay analysis is used to assess the impacts of precipitation, groundwater, and water quality on habitat suitability of herpetofauna. With the spatial assessment of vulnerable habitats under each scenario, mitigation policies are suggested through climate buffer areas and stream continuity to enable climate migration.
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