Lisa Sorenson

Research Interests

My current research addresses the potential effects of global warming on wetlands and waterfowl breeding in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the Northern Great Plains, the most important breeding area for waterfowl in North America. As the climate warms due to rising atmospheric concentrations of CO2 from anthropogenic burning of fossil fuels, it is important to assess the probable impacts of this warming on this vital wetland ecosystem and wildlife resource.

Using data from annual spring counts of wetlands and breeding duck populations conducted since 1955, I am examining the historical relationship between climate conditions and the number of wetlands and breeding ducks. Working with climatologists at Goddard Institute for Space Studies, I am using this relationship to project future pond and duck numbers under climate change based on climate values generated from sensitivity analyses and General Circulation Model (GCM) scenarios. My work includes an analysis of the sensitivity of individual waterfowl species to global warming as well as an assessment of which regions in the PPR may be most vulnerable to damage from climate change, results that will aid managers in planning mitigation and conservation strategies.

I am also interested in Caribbean ornithology and am actively involved in avian and wetlands conservation efforts in the region. I am coordinating the “The West Indian Whistling-Duck and Wetlands Conservation Project”, a region-wide public education and awareness program and population surveys for the endangered West Indian Whistling-Duck and the importance of wetlands in general.

Selected Publications

• Sorenson, L.G., Nolan, P., Derrickson, S.R., Brown, A.M., & S.L. Monfort. 1997. Hormonal dynamics of aggression, dominance, and courtship during mate choice in the Northern Pintail: a test of the “challenge” hypothesis. Animal Behaviour 54: 1117-1133.
• Sorenson, L.G. and Carey, E. 1998. The West Indian Whistling-Duck and Wetlands Conservation Project Working Group report on training workshop held
  in Nassau, Bahamas, 13-15 November 1997. El Pitirre 11: 19-22.
• Sorenson, L.G., Goldberg, R., Root, T.L., and M.G. Anderson. 1998. Potential effects of global warming on waterfowl populations breeding in the Northern Great Plains. Climatic Change 40: 343-369.
• Sorenson, L.G. and P. Bradley. 1999. Update on the West Indian Whistling-Duck (WIWD) and Wetlands Conservation Project Report from the WIWD Working
  Group. El Pitirre 11: 126-131.
• Sorenson, L.G. In press. The White-cheeked Pintail (species account). in Bird Families of the World: Ducks, Geese, Swans. Edited by J. Kear, Oxford University Press.
• Najjar, R.G., Walker, H., Anderson, P., Barron, E., Bord, R., Gibson, J., Knight, C.G., Megonigal, P., OConnor, R., Polsky, C., Psuty, N., Richards, B., Sorenson, L., Kennedy, V., and R. Swanson. 2000. The potential impacts of climate change on the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Region. Climate Research. In press.
• Sorenson, L.G. 2000. Impacts of Climate Change on Waterfowl in the Chesapeake Bay. Pg. 30 in: Fisher, A. et al. Preparing for a Changing Climate the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change: Mid-Atlantic Overview Report. Prepared for US Global Change Research Program First National Assessment, sponsored by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cooperative Agreement CR 826554, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
• Sorenson, L.G., Goldberg, R., Anderson , M.G., Root, T.L., and C. Rosenzweig. Potential Impacts of Global Warming to Pothole Wetlands and Waterfowl. in No Place to Go? The Impact of Climate Change on Wildlife. Edited by R. Green, M. Harley, M. Spalding, and C. Zockler. In press.