Biodiversity and climate change

Question 1

What limits the distribution of species?

Answer 1

Abiotic factors

Biotic factors

Dispersal

Climate

Question 2

Abiotic factors

Answer 2

Many tropical and subtropical plant species are limited by frost

Saguaro cactus distribution restricted to places <1 day of frost

Question 3

Biotic factors

Answer 3

Biotic interactions (e.g. pathogens) can limit the distribution of species

Example: Chestnut blight fungus almost extirpated the American chestnut in a few decades to ca. 10% its historical population

Question 4

Dispersal

Answer 4

Many (most?) species do not exist in all climatically suitable areas

Question 5

Climate

Answer 5

1 driver of distributions of species and biomes

Question 6

Possible responses to climate change

Answer 6

Tolerate

Adapt

Migrate

Go extinct

Question 7

Impacts of glaciations - Extinctions

Answer 7

Many losses from European flora:
- Over 2/3 of cool-temperate tree genera present in the Pliocene went extinct
- Heavy losses of warm-temperate/subtropical taxa
- Most extinctions early on (late Pliocene and first part of Quaternary)

Few/moderate losses from E North America and E Asia

Question 8

Where is climate change the largest threat?

Answer 8

1) Mountain areas
2) Lowland tropics
3) Arctic
4) Temperate areas

Question 9

Top threats to biodiversity

Answer 9

1) Changes in land and sea use
2) Direct exploitation of organisms
3) Climate change
4) Pollution
5) Invasive alien species

Question 10

What are the implications for management? (management options)

Answer 10

• Protected areas!
• Restoration
• Assisted migration
• More dynamic management:
• Open-ended management?
• Revising the danish interpretation of the EU Habitats Directive
• Revising protected areas and their connectivity
• functional rewilding
• Reduce other threats
• Mitigate climate change