Widespread ecological responses and cascading effects of the 2021 western North American heatwave
01.04.2026
In this article in Nature, Ecology & Evolution, researchers studied the effects of the 2021 western North American heatwave, among the most extreme weather events on record globally. Researchers synthesized meteorological, ecological, hydrological and wildfire data, along with process-based modelling, to quantify the heatwave and its ecological impacts across the region. Negative impacts tended to be greater for sessile marine invertebrates, algae and plants than for more mobile organisms like birds and mammals. Streamflow from snow and ice melt also increased 40% during the heatwave before dropping below average, whereas wildfire activity surged 37% during the heatwave and 395% the following week. Results of this study underscore the urgent need for enhanced coordinated approaches to predict, detect and manage increasing heatwaves. This working group was funded by the UBC Biodiversity Research Centre, and was organized and led by CIEE.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-026-02987-6
In this article in Nature, Ecology & Evolution, researchers studied the effects of the 2021 western North American heatwave, among the most extreme weather events on record globally. Researchers synthesized meteorological, ecological, hydrological and wildfire data, along with process-based modelling, to quantify the heatwave and its ecological impacts across the region. Negative impacts tended to be greater for sessile marine invertebrates, algae and plants than for more mobile organisms like birds and mammals. Streamflow from snow and ice melt also increased 40% during the heatwave before dropping below average, whereas wildfire activity surged 37% during the heatwave and 395% the following week. Results of this study underscore the urgent need for enhanced coordinated approaches to predict, detect and manage increasing heatwaves. This working group was funded by the UBC Biodiversity Research Centre, and was organized and led by CIEE.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-026-02987-6