Abstract
Concern for the environment has increased over the past century, and the US Congress has responded to this concern by passing legislation designed to protect the nation’s ecological biodiversity. This legislation, culminating with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, has been instrumental in defining methods for identifying and protecting endangered or threatened species and their habitats. Current legislation, however, assumes that the range of a protected species will stay constant over time. This assumption may no longer be valid, as the unprecedented increase in the number and concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has the potential to cause a global warming of 1.0–4.5°C and a sea-level rise (SLR) of 31–150 cm by the year 2100. Changes in climate of this magnitude are capable of causing shifts in the population structure and range of most animal species.
This article examines the effects that SLR may have on the habitats of endangered and threatened species at three scales. At the regional scale 52 endangered or threatened plant and animal species were found to reside within 3 m of mean sea level in the coastal stages of the US Southeast. At the state level, the habitats of nine endangered or threatened animals that may be at risk from future SLR were identified. At the local level, a microscale analysis was conducted in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina, USA, on the adverse effects that SLR may have on the habitats of the American alligator, brown pelican, loggerhead sea turtle, and wood stork.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. National Audubon Society, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Botkins, D. B., C. A. Woodby, and R. A. Nisbet. 1991. Kirland’s warbler habitats: A possible early indicator of climatic warming.Biological Conservation 56:63–79.
Brewer, P. G. 1978. Carbon dioxide and climate.Ocenaus 21:13–17.
Bull, J., and J. Farrand, Jr. 1977. The Audubon Society field guide to North American birds: Eastern region. National Audubon Society, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. 1987. Calendar year 1987 research activities. Annual report (unpublished).
Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. 1988. Calendar year 1988 research activities. Annual report (unpublished).
Culliton, T. J., C. M. Blackwell, D. G. Remer, T. R. Goodspeed, and M. A. Warren. 1989. Selected characteristics in coastal states. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment, Washington, DC.
Daniels, R. C., V. M. Gornitz, A. J. Metha, S. C. Lee, and R. M. Cushman. 1992. Adapting to sea-level rise in the US southeast: the influence of built infrastructure and biophysical factors on the inundation of coastal areas. ORNL/CDIAC-54, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Department of the Interior. 1986. Birds: Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina. RF-42510-2, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC.
Department of the Interior. 1988. Endangered and threatened species of the southeastern United States. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 4, Washington, DC.
Douglas, B. C. 1991. Global Sea-level rise.Journal of Geophysical Research 96C:6981–6992.
Gornitz, V., and S. Lebedeff. 1987. Global sea-level changes during the past century. Pages 3–16in D. Nummeal, O. H. Pilkey, and J. D. Howard (eds.), Sea-level fluctuations and coastal evolution. SEPM special publication No. 41.
Gornitz, V., T. W. White, and R. M. Cushman. 1991. Vulnerability of the US to future sea-level rise. Pages 2354–2368in Coastal zone 91, proceedings of the 7th symposium on coastal and ocean management. ASCE, Long Beach, California.
Hopkins, S. R., and T. M. Murphy. 1989. Management of loggerhead turtle nesting beaches in South Carolina. Study completion report, E-1, Study No. VI-A-2, South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Columbia, South Carolina.
Houghton, R. A. and G. A. Woodwell. 1989. Global climatic change.Scientific American 260:36–44.
Kraemer, J. E., and R. Bell. 1978. Rain-induced mortality of eggs and hatchlings of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) on the Georgia coast USAHerpetologica 36:72–77.
Lowe, D. W., J. R. Matthews, and C. J. Moseley (eds.). 1990. The official World Wildlife Fund guide to endangered species of North America, Vols. I and II. Beacham Publishing, Inc., Washington DC.
National Research Council. 1987. Responding to changes in sea level, engineering implications. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
National Research Council. 1990. Decline of the sea turtles: Causes and prevention. National Academy Press, Washington DC.
Peters, L. R., and J. D. Darling. 1985. The greenhouse effect and nature reserves.BioScience 35:707–717.
Pugh, D. T., N. E. Spencer, and P. L. Woodworth. 1987. Data holdings of the permanent service for mean sea level. Bidston Observatory, Birkenhead, England.
Ragotzkie, R. A. 1959. Mortality of loggerhead turtle eggs from excessive rainfall.Ecology 40:303–305.
Ramanathan, V. 1988. The greenhouse theory of climate change: A test by an inadvertent global experiment.Science 240:293–299.
Reid, W. V., and M. C. Trexler. 1991. Drowning the national heritage: Climate change and coastal biodiversity. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.
Robins, C. R., and G. C. Ray. 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. National Audubon Society, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Smith, J. B., and D. A. Tirpak. 1989. The potential effects of Global climate change on the United States. US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Washington, DC.
Stephen, M. F., P. J. Brown, D. M. FitzGerald, G. K. Hubbard, and M. O. Hayes. 1975. Beach erosion inventory of Charleston County, South Carolina: A preliminary report. South Carolina Sea Grant Technical Report, No. 7.
Thomas, J. P., R. L. Feruson, J. D. Dobson, and F. A. Cross. 1991. NOAA’s coastwatch: Change analysis program. Pages 259–267in Coastal zone 91, proceedings of the 7th symposium on coastal and ocean management. ASCE, Long Beach, California.
Warrick, R., and J. Oerlemans. 1990. Sea-level rise. Pages 261–280in J. T. Houghton, G. J. Jenkins, and J. J. Ephraums. (eds.), Climate change: The IPCC scientific assessment. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Prepared by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA; managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems. Inc. for the US Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-84OR21400.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Daniels, R.C., White, T.W. & Chapman, K.K. Sea-level rise: Destruction of threatened and endangered species habitat in South Carolina. Environmental Management 17, 373–385 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02394680
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02394680