Assessing Species Vulnerability
believed to be moderately vulnerable and highly
sensitive to climate change (photo: DNR).
The aim of NatureServe’s Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) is to provide a means of rapidly distinguishing species likely to be most vulnerable to change, defined as the degree to which a species is susceptible to detrimental change (Young et al. 2012). The index considers two primary components of a species’ vulnerability to climate change: exposure to changes in climate and sensitivity of the species to changes in climate.
The CCVI scores a species on 17 factors related to its anticipated vulnerability to climate change, such as dispersal ability and habitat specificity. Vulnerability incorporates a species' sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity (Dawson et al. 2011 ). Four factors addressing indirect exposure to climate change, such as presence in areas likely to be affected by rising sea levels are also evaluated. When available, documented responses to climate change (from prior field and/or modeling studies) are also included. The outcome is one of six possible Index categories: three degrees of “Vulnerable” (Extremely, Highly, Moderately), two degrees of “Not Vulnerable” (Presumed Stable, Increase Likely), and “Insufficient Evidence”. The Index also provides a report on the key factors that have contributed to the ranking, which can help inform conservation actions.
The Washington Natural Heritage Program also assessed the climate change sensitivity (Case et al. 2015) for several species. This assessment considers nine factors, including a species’ physiology, life history, habitat, and non-climatic stressors. These factors were then used to calculate an over-all sensitivity score, with 100 being the highest level of sensitivity. When available, these assessments are included in the table, below.
The results are summarized in the table, below, and reports are available for each of the species. Additional species will be added as assessments are completed for them. Species are listed first by group, then alphabetically by scientific name.
Click on a species' CCVI or CCSD score to open the assessment report (PDF).
| Element Scientific Name |
Element Common Name |
CCVI Score |
CCSD Score |
Element Rank1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vascular Plants | ||||
| Allium dictuon | Blue Mountain onion | Presumed Stable |
G2S2 | |
| Artemisia campestris var. wormskioldii | Wormskiold's northern wormwood |
Moderately Vulnerable | 60 High |
G5T1S1 |
| Astragalus sinuatus | Whited's milk-vetch | Presumed Stable |
G1S1 | |
| Bolandra oregana | Oregon bolandra | Moderately Vulnerable | G3S2 | |
| Botrychium lineare | skinny moonwort | Presumed Stable |
G2G3S1 | |
| Botrychium paradoxum | two-spiked moonwort | Presumed Stable |
G3G4S2 | |
| Castilleja levisecta | golden paintbrush | Presumed Stable |
62 High |
G2S2 |
| Corydalis aquae-gelidae | Clackamas corydalis | Moderately Vulnerable | G5T3S2 | |
| Delphinium viridescens | Wenatchee larkspur | Moderately Vulnerable | G2S2 | |
| Dodecatheon austrofrigidum | frigid shooting-star | Moderately Vulnerable | G2S1 | |
| Erigeron howellii | Howell's daisy | Presumed Stable |
G2S2 | |
| Eriogonum codium | Umtanum desert buckwheat | Presumed Stable |
48 Medium |
G1S1 |
| Erythronium quinaultense | Quinault fawn-lily | Presumed Stable |
G1G2S1S2 | |
| Hackelia venusta | showy stickseed | Moderately Vulnerable | 42 Medium |
G1S1 |
| Howellia aquatilis | water howellia | Highly Vulnerable |
71 High |
G3S2 |
| Iliamna longisepala | longsepal globemallow | Presumed Stable |
G3S3 | |
| Lomatium bradshawii | Bradshaw's desert-parsley | Moderately Vulnerable | 60 High |
G2S1 |
| Lomatium suksdorfii | Suksdorf's desert-parsley | Presumed Stable |
G3S3 | |
| Lupinus oreganus var. kincaidii | Kincaid's sulfur lupine | Presumed Stable |
55 Medium |
G4T2S1S2 |
| Penstemon barrettiae | Barrett's beardtongue | Presumed Stable |
G2S2 | |
| Physaria douglasii ssp. tuplashensis | White Bluffs bladderpod | Moderately Vulnerable | 54 Medium |
G1QS1 |
| Polemonium pectinatum | Washington polemonium | Moderately Vulnerable | G2S2 | |
| Sidalcea hirtipes | hairy-stemmed checker-mallow | Moderately Vulnerable | G2S2 | |
| Sidalcea nelsoniana | Nelson's checker-mallow | Presumed Stable |
53 Medium |
G2G3S1 |
| Sidalcea oregana var. calva | Wenatchee Mountain checker-mallow |
Moderately Vulnerable | 47 Medium |
G5T1S1? |
| Silene spaldingii | Spalding's silene | Moderately Vulnerable | 59 High |
G2S2 |
| Sisyrinchium sarmentosum | pale blue-eyed grass | Highly Vulnerable |
G2S2 | |
| Spiranthes diluvialis | Ute ladies' tresses | Moderately Vulnerable | 59 High |
G2G3S1 |
| Sullivantia oregana | Oregon sullivantia | Moderately Vulnerable | G2S1 | |
| Trifolium douglasii | Douglas' clover | Moderately Vulnerable | G2S1 | |
| Trifolium thompsonii | Thompson's clover | Presumed Stable |
G3S3 |
1The Element Ranks listed here are current as of 01/04/2019 and may have changed since the CCVI or CCSD scores were determined. For more information on determining species’ ranks, visit our Natural Heritage Methodology page.
Citations and Additional Resources
Young B.E., Hall K.R., Byers E., Gravuer K., Hammerson G., Redder A., and Szabo K. 2012. Rapid assessment of plant and animal vulnerability to climate change. In: J. Brodie, E. Post, and D. Doak, editors. Wildlife Conservation in a Changing Climate. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p 129-152.
