Description
Book SynopsisClimate change has moved from being a contested phenomenon to the top of the agenda at global summits. Climate Change Biology is the first major textbook to address the critical issue of how climate change may affect life on the planet, and particularly its impact on human populations. Presented in four parts, the first deals extensively with the physical evidence of climate change and various modelling efforts to predict its future. Biological responses are addressed in the second part, from the individual's physiology to populations and ecosystems, and further to considering adaptation and evolution. The third part examines the specific impact climate change may have on natural resources, agriculture and forestry. The final part considers research on the cutting edge of impact prediction and the practical and philosophical limitations on our abilities to predict these impacts. This text will be a useful asset to the growing number of both undergraduate and graduate courses on impacts of climate change, as well as providing a succinct overview for researchers new to the field.
Table of ContentsPart I: Preliminaries 1: Putting it in Perspective: The Paleorecord and Climate Reconstructions 2: Projecting Future Climates 3: Methods for Studying the Impacts of Climatic Change Part II: Impacts from Physiology to Evolution 4: Physiological Responses 5: Population Responses in Time and Space 6: Community Composition and Dynamics 7: Ecosystem Responses 8: Evolutionary Responses to Climatic Change Part III: Applications 9: Responses by Soil Organisms 10: The Future of Forest Productivity 11: The Future of Agricultural Production 12: Impacts on Biodiversity Part IV: Final Considerations 13: Multiple Stressors 14: The Limits of Science
