The northern Gulf of Mexico has a wealth of natural resources and an economy dependent on healthy coasts. However, the combined impacts of rising sea level and tropical storms on coastal areas will be dramatic and present a significant threat to coastal communities and ecosystems.
Florida has many endemic and imperiled species and ecosystems vulnerable to climate change, urbanization, and other stressors. UCF researchers in the Biology Department are exploring options for maintaining these species and ecosystems in the face of warmer temperatures, sea level rise, and changes in rainfall patterns, in combination with land-use change related to a growing human population.
UCF researchers are working to understand how future climate change is likely to affect Florida’s natural resources, from the sea to the forests. Florida has many unique species and ecosystems that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
