Measuring Climate Change in Acadia National Park

For more than a century, Acadia National Park has provided scientists with a valuable window into ecological change. Researchers here are investigating how climate change is altering connections between the Gulf of Maine, coastal forests and vulnerable plant communities. Through long-term monitoring, wildlife surveys and habitat assessments, this research is helping scientists understand how ecosystems respond to change and identify habitats that may help protect biodiversity in the future.

Research Focus

Climate change affects more than individual species. It can alter the relationships that connect entire ecosystems, changing how wildlife move across the landscape, where species can survive and how energy and nutrients flow through natural communities. This project has two complementary focus areas. Together, these projects help scientists identify which ecological connections remain strong, which habitats may become increasingly important for conservation and how Acadia's ecosystems are responding to a changing climate:

• One concentrates on the connections between the Gulf of Maine and Acadia's coastal forests, looking at how marine prey—including mussels, crabs, sea urchins and lobsters—are transported inland by wildlife such as red foxes, mink, river otters and corvids. By documenting these movements, researchers can better understand how ocean resources influence forest ecosystems and how those relationships may change in the future.

• The other investigates climate refugia—areas that remain cooler than the surrounding landscape and may help vulnerable species persist as temperatures rise. Researchers monitor rare northern and arctic-alpine plants in permanent plots throughout Acadia to evaluate whether these habitats provide meaningful protection from climate-related change.

Conservation Impact

Acadia's forests, coastlines and mountain habitats are deeply interconnected. This research program is helping scientists understand how those connections are changing and which species and habitats may be most vulnerable—or most resilient—in the future.

Research has already revealed:

• Evidence that marine prey such as mussels, crabs, sea urchins and lobsters are transported far inland by wildlife, linking the Gulf of Maine with Acadia's coastal forests

• Hundreds of wildlife-camera observations that help identify species moving marine resources across the landscape

• New data on rare northern and arctic-alpine plants that may depend on cooler habitats for long-term survival

• Long-term records that help scientists evaluate whether climate refugia can protect vulnerable species as temperatures rise

Research findings are being used to:

• Understand how marine and terrestrial ecosystems remain connected

• Monitor biodiversity across changing coastal habitats

• Identify and evaluate potential climate refugia

• Test predictive models used in conservation planning

• Inform restoration efforts on mountain summits and other sensitive landscapes

• Support biodiversity monitoring before and after habitat restoration projects

• Guide climate adaptation and resource-management decisions throughout Acadia National Park

Together, this work is helping scientists understand how climate change is affecting Acadia from sea to summit and providing information that supports future conservation and management decisions.

Your Role in the Research

As a participant, you become part of an ongoing scientific effort to understand how climate change is influencing Acadia National Park. The observations you collect contribute to long-term monitoring projects that extend far beyond a single field season. Whether documenting marine prey in coastal forests, helping identify wildlife captured on camera or monitoring rare plant populations, your work supports datasets that scientists use to track ecological change over time. In 2024 alone, Earthwatch travelers contributed more than 6,200 hours of research and training, helping scientists collect data that would otherwise be difficult to gather at this scale.

Life in the Field

Research takes place in coastal forests, rocky shorelines, mountain summits and coastal barrens. Approximately half of the mornings focus on Earthwatch research activities, while the remainder begin with recreational excursions that offer opportunities to experience Acadia's landscapes, wildlife and local history. Lunch is often enjoyed outdoors near research sites before an afternoon of continued fieldwork, data collection or presentations from scientists involved in the project. Evenings alternate between meals at Schoodic Institute and visits to local restaurants. After dinner, guests can relax on campus, explore the shoreline or take advantage of the Schoodic Peninsula's exceptional dark skies for stargazing.

Field Conditions

Research takes place across a remarkable range of coastal habitats, from spruce-fir forests and rocky shorelines to windswept mountaintops and coastal barrens. Depending on the day's project, participants may work in permanent forest monitoring plots, explore wave-washed intertidal zones, survey vegetation on exposed summits or visit remote coastal sites along the Schoodic Peninsula. Terrain is often uneven and can include roots, rocks, dense vegetation, wet ground and exposed bedrock. Along the coast, conditions are influenced by tides, wind and weather, while mountain and shoreline environments can feel significantly cooler than inland areas. Summer weather in Maine is highly variable. Participants should be prepared for sunshine, fog, wind, rain and rapidly changing conditions, sometimes all within the same day.