Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

Morgan Y Florsheim '20

ScB Environmental Science – Conservation, Science & Policy track
Thesis Advisor Dov Sax
Project Understanding the Role of Naturalized Populations in Species’ Ability to Track Climate Change

Biography

Humans have unintentionally facilitated a number of species becoming established outside of their native ranges, a phenomenon termed “unmanaged relocation.” Although typically viewed as a negative anthropogenic impact, this unmanaged relocation could prove vital to species’ ability to shift their ranges in response to climate change. To assess the importance of the relationship between unmanaged relocation and climate, Morgan is collecting dendrochronological data and building climate niche models for a sample group of ten species of trees that are native to the southeastern United States but have naturalized populations north of their native range.