Climate-Related Local Extinctions Are Already Widespread among Plant and Animal Species

Summary

Current climate change may be a major threat to global biodiversity, but the extent of species loss will depend on the details of how species respond to changing climates. For example, if most species can undergo rapid change in their climatic niches, then extinctions may be limited. Numerous studies have now documented shifts in the geographic ranges of species that were inferred to be related to climate change, especially shifts towards higher mean elevations and latitudes. Many of these studies contain valuable data on extinctions of local populations that have not yet been thoroughly explored. Specifically, overall range shifts can include range contractions at the “warm edges” of species’ ranges (i.e., lower latitudes and elevations), contractions which occur through local extinctions. Here, data on climate-related range shifts were used to test the frequency of local extinctions related to recent climate change. The results show that climate-related local extinctions have already occurred in hundreds of species, including 47% of the 976 species surveyed. This frequency of local extinctions was broadly similar across climatic zones, clades, and habitats but was significantly higher in tropical species than in temperate species (55% versus 39%), in animals than in plants (50% versus 39%), and in freshwater habitats relative to terrestrial and marine habitats (74% versus 46% versus 51%). Overall, these results suggest that local extinctions related to climate change are already widespread, even though levels of climate change so far are modest relative to those predicted in the next 100 years. These extinctions will presumably become much more prevalent as global warming increases further by roughly 2-fold to 5-fold over the coming decades.

Key Points

• 1Climate change has already caused local extinctions in nearly fifty percent of the surveyed species
• 2Local extinctions are more prevalent in tropical species compared to temperate ones
• 3Animals show higher local extinction rates than plants due to climate change
• 4The extent of local extinctions suggests future biodiversity loss as global temperatures continue to rise
• 5The data highlights the urgent need for conservation efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change on biodiversity.

Related articles

• Earth Science Reviewer

  This document provides an extensive overview of Earth science, focusing on its major branches, processes, and systems, including geology, oceanography, meteorology, and astronomy. It discusses the Earth's formation, natural hazards, and the importance of scientific inquiry in understanding our planet.

• Handout 1

  This document provides an overview of sustainable tourism, discussing its definition, relevance, benefits, dimensions, and stakeholders involved in promoting practices that protect the environment and local communities while benefiting the economy.

• first

  This study focuses on developing an Edge AI-based computer vision system designed to monitor urban areas for unauthorized waste disposal, detect such events in real-time, and automatically alert authorities.

• ECODIGEST RQ

  🧬 ECODIGEST — POSSIBLE PANEL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS A. BASIC QUESTIONS 1. What is your study all about? Answer: Our study investigates the biodegradation potential of crude enzymes extracted from cacao pod

• ECODIGEST

  If a judge asks: “What is your research about?” Say: Our study compares crude enzymes derived from cacao pod husks, superworms, and banana peels to determine their potential to biodegrade HDPE, primarily