Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Full Presentation
Full Presentation
Ecological Impacts
Living things are intimately connected to their
physical surroundings.
Ecosystems are affected by changes in:
– temperature – salinity (saltiness)
– rainfall/moisture – activities & distribution of other species
– pH – …many other factors
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
Ecological Impacts
As a result of climate change, species and
ecosystems are experiencing changes in:
– ranges – cycling of water and nutrients
– timing of biological activity – the risk of disturbance from
– growth rates fire, insects, and invasive
– relative abundance of species species
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
Ecological Impacts
• As a result of climate change, species and
ecosystems are experiencing changes in:
– ranges – cycling of water and nutrients
– timing of biological activity – the risk of disturbance from
– growth rates fire, insects, and invasive
– relative abundance of species species
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
Range Shifts
Species are relocating to areas
with more tolerable climate
conditions.
Range shifts particularly
threaten species that:
– cannot move fast enough
– depend on conditions that are
becoming more rare (like sea ice)
Ecological Impacts
As a result of climate change, species and
ecosystems are experiencing changes in:
– ranges – cycling of water and nutrients
– timing of biological activity – the risk of disturbance from
– growth rates fire, insects, and invasive
– relative abundance of species species
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
Rate of warming,
indicated by colors
(red=higher rate).
Image created with data from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
2002 2004
1850 Today
Images courtesy Rodney Cammauf, National Park Service (panther); South Florida Water Management District (maps)
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
– Pollution – Overfishing
– Habitat fragmentation – Manipulation of water sources
– Invasive species – …and much more
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
Acknowledgments
This presentation was developed by the National
Academy of Sciences based on its report, Ecological
Impacts of Climate Change (2009). The report, its
companion booklet, and this presentation were
produced with support from the United States
Geological Survey. Ecological Impacts of Climate
Change was authored by the following National
Research Council committee:
CHRISTOPHER B. FIELD, Chair, Carnegie Institution for Science National Research Council Staff
DONALD F. BOESCH, U. of Maryland Center for Environmental Science ANN REID, Study Director
F. STUART (TERRY) CHAPIN III, University of Alaska FRANCES E. SHARPLES, Director, Board on Life
PETER H. GLEICK, Pacific Institute Sciences
ANTHONY C. JANETOS, University of Maryland ANNE FRANCES JOHNSON, Communications Officer
JANE LUBCHENCO, Oregon State University AMANDA CLINE, Senior Program Assistant
JONATHAN T. OVERPECK, University of Arizona
CAMILLE PARMESAN, University of Texas
TERRY L. ROOT, Stanford University
STEVEN W. RUNNING, University of Montana
STEPHEN H. SCHNEIDER, Stanford University