Online Resources: Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystems and Species

Rising greenhouse gas concentrations are changing the world's climate and acidifying the oceans, and these already are affecting ecosystems and species on all the world's continents and oceans.  Those impacts will rapidly grow during the rest of the 21st century -- and beyond.  We provide a sampling of key online resources on those impacts on natural systems and wildlife.

Climate Change Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit (2009). Developed by agencies of the U.S. government "to aid educators in teaching how climate change is affecting our nation’s wildlife and public lands, and how everyone can become `climate stewards.’” It includes links to information on 11 U.S. ecoregions. For each region there is a profile (what the toolkit calls a “case study) and 1-3 activities for students.

Ecological Impacts of Climate Change. Booklet from the U.S.National Academies (2008). Includes:

• HTML version of the report, including coverage of these U.S. regions:
  • Pacific Coastline
  • Alaska and the Arctic
  • Western Mountains
  • Southwestern Deserts
  • Central United States
  • Southeast
  • Northeast

• PDF of the report
• Powerpoint Presentation Modules on Ecological Impacts
• Illustrations

Species susceptibility to climate change impacts factsheet [PDF]. From the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (October 2008)

Ecosystems, their Properties, Goods and Services [PDF].  Chapter 4 of Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (2007). Report of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Connecting Biodiversity and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: Report of the Second Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change [PDF]. From the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2009). Report of the Second Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change.

Videos

Global Warming and Wildlife (National Wildlife Federation) 

Climate Change - Wildlife & Wildlands (U.S. Global Change Research Program)

Web Sites

WWF US > Climate Change Blog > Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability  > Ecosystems and Species .  A few of our more popular and recent postings (updated 30 Jan 2011):

• Birds in every U.S. region will be impacted by climate change, says new report .  03/13/2010.
• Pushed by Climate Change, American Pikas May Follow Polar Bears onto Endangered Species List . 02/02/2010.
• Wetlands and Waterfowl in Prairie Pothole Region of North America are "Highly Vulnerable to Climate Warming," Researchers Say . 02/02/2010.
• Tigers in Trouble: Rising Seas Will Submerge Habitat of Sundarbans Tigers of Bangladesh. 01/20/2010.
• As Climate Changes, Species Must Race across Landscape to Adapt.  01/08/2010.
• 10 species to watch in 2010.  01/06/2010.
• IUCN Names 10 Species on Climate Change “Hit List" .  12/15/2009.

WWF US > Climate Change Blog > Regions > WWF Priority Places. A few of our more popular and recent postings (updated 30 Jan 2011):

• Arctic Sea Ice Decline and its Impacts: Online Resources (30 Jan 2011).
• Another Extreme Drought Hits the Amazon and Raises Climate Change Concerns (23 Nov 2010).
• Caribbean Coral Reefs, Climate Variability and Change, and Ocean Acidification: Online Resources (29 Nov 2010)

WWF International > Impacts of Climate Change > Nature at Risk

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) > National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center