Biodiversity loss due to more than climate change

Dobson, Andrew; Rowe, Zeke W.; Berger, Joël; Wholey, Philippa; Caro, Tim

doi:10.1126/science.abm6216

Cited by 27 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…We strongly reject this argument and expand on earlier evidence for this case (Dobson et al, 2021; Maxwell et al., 2016). We contend that compared to rampant land‐use alteration and direct exploitation, the climate is more of a mule, powerful, but operating slower than other factors that mediate biodiversity loss and alter community dynamics (Burrows et al., 2011; Jetz et al., 2007).…”

Section: How Important?supporting

confidence: 85%

An inconvenient misconception: Climate change is not the principal driver of biodiversity loss

Caro

Rowe

Berger

et al. 2022

CONSERVATION LETTERS

Self Cite

108

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The current perception that climate change is the principal threat to biodiversity is at best premature. Although highly relevant, it detracts focus and effort from the primary threats: habitat destruction and overexploitation. We collated causes of vertebrate extinctions since 1900, threat information for amphibia, birds, and mammals from the IUCN Red List, and scrutinized others' attempts to compare climate change with commensurate anthropogenic threats. In each analysis, none of the arguments founded on climate change's wide-ranging effects are as urgent for biodiversity as those for habitat loss and overexploitation. Present conservation efforts must refocus on these issues. Conserving ecosystems by focusing on these major threats not only protects biodiversity but is the only available, economically viable, global strategy to reverse climate change.

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Section: How Important?supporting

confidence: 85%

An inconvenient misconception: Climate change is not the principal driver of biodiversity loss

Caro

Rowe

Berger

et al. 2022

CONSERVATION LETTERS

Self Cite

108

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Other important environmental drivers of population dynamics such as habitat quality and resource variability can be incorporated into demographic models to reduce the process variance in the historical environment, enabling an earlier detection of the impact of climate change on populations. This is particularly important as habitat loss and resources exploitation (land‐use change, fisheries, and deforestation) are key threatening processes driving the global loss in biodiversity that have synergistic effects with climate change (Dobson et al, 2021 ; Lemmer et al, 2021 ; Mantyka‐pringle et al, 2012 ). If the combined effects of those threats and climate change are greater than the effects of each threat individually, the climate‐driven trend in population maybe larger than the climate‐driven trend without interaction with other threats, with potentially earlier detection of anthropogenic forced change in populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting climate signals in populations across life histories

Jenouvrier

Long

Coste

et al. 2022

Global Change Biology

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Climate impacts are not always easily discerned in wild populations as detecting climate change signals in populations is challenged by stochastic noise associated with natural climate variability, variability in biotic and abiotic processes, and observation error in demographic rates. Detection of the impact of climate change on populations requires making a formal distinction between signals in the population associated with long-term climate trends from those generated by stochastic noise. The time of emergence (ToE) identifies when the signal of anthropogenic climate change can be quantitatively distinguished from natural climate variability. This concept has been applied extensively in the climate sciences, but has not been explored in the context of population dynamics. Here, we outline an approach to detecting climatedriven signals in populations based on an assessment of when climate change drives population dynamics beyond the envelope characteristic of stochastic variations in an unperturbed state. Specifically, we present a theoretical assessment of the time of emergence of climate-driven signals in population dynamics (ToE pop ). We identify the dependence of ToE pop on the magnitude of both trends and variability in climate and also explore the effect of intrinsic demographic controls on ToE pop . We demonstrate that different life histories (fast species vs. slow species), demographic processes (survival, reproduction), and the relationships between climate and demographic rates yield population dynamics that filter climate trends and variability differently. We illustrate empirically how to detect the point in time when anthropogenic signals in populations emerge from stochastic noise for a species threatened by climate change: the emperor penguin. Finally, we propose six testable hypotheses and a road map for future research.

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“…Worldwide, the major problem at this time seems, however, the loss of freshwater species and the alteration of aquatic community structure and ecosystem functioning at the local grain (Stork, 2010). Moreover, current evidence shows that anthropogenic factors such as land-use change and pollution, habitat fragmentation, invasive species and overexploitation, are currently and consistently more important in driving biodiversity threats than the contemporary effects of climate change (Tedesco et al, 2013;Dobson et al, 2021;Caro et al, 2022).…”

Section: Overview Of Current Threats To Freshwater Biodiversity and E...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Time for decisive actions to protect freshwater ecosystems from global changes

Oberdorff

2022

Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst.

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Freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity provide fundamental services to humans such as nutritional resources production, water provisioning, water purification, recreation, and more globally climate regulation. Anthropogenic impacts on freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity are already strong and will most probably increase in the near future. Anthropogenic drivers are widely known and include in particular, climate change, habitat shrinking and/or modification due to land-use (e.g. water abstraction for human and agricultural consumption, urbanization), habitat fragmentation and homogenization in stream flow dynamics due to the damming of rivers, introduction of non-native species, dumping of nutrient or organic loadings increasing eutrophication processes, and biodiversity over-exploitation. Here, I review the current and future effects of these anthropogenic drivers on freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity and provide some few examples of existing solutions, either technological, nature-based or policy-based, that could be applied globally to halt and/or minimize their negative consequences. However, success will require systemic changes across public policy and a sufficient political will to do so.

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Biodiversity loss due to more than climate change

Cited by 27 publications

References 7 publications

An inconvenient misconception: Climate change is not the principal driver of biodiversity loss

An inconvenient misconception: Climate change is not the principal driver of biodiversity loss

Detecting climate signals in populations across life histories

Time for decisive actions to protect freshwater ecosystems from global changes

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