Climate Change and Ecosystem Services: SE CSC Director Jerry McMahon and Research Scientist Mitch Eaton Contribute to Panel Session

USGS Director Jerry McMahon, along with Janet Cushing from the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, organized and moderated a session at the recent 2016 Conference of A Community on Ecosystem Services (ACES) in Jacksonville, FL. The Panel Session, entitled “Framing Climate Change Science and Adaptation in the Context of Ecosystem Services – Moving the Ball Forward,” brought together experts in the fields of engineering, socio-economics, and climate change science. The panel presentations and discussion focused on identifying the current knowns and unknowns related to both climate change science and ecosystem services assessments, and recommendations for research efforts that facilitate climate change scientists and social scientists working together to help planners and decision-makers consider ecosystem services in the context of climate change. Mitch Eaton, SE CSC Research Ecologist and expert in decision science, provided perspectives on helping planners and decision-makers adapt to climate change impacts in design of coastal refuges. Other panel members were from Resources for the Future, Clark University, US Army Corps of Engineers, and Northeast Climate Science Center. Results of the session will be useful in informing a research agenda that integrates climate science and ecosystem services.