Portland Public Library

Driven to extinction, the impact of climate change on biodiversity, Richard Pearson

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 226-254) and index

platesillustrations

index present

non fiction

Driven to extinction

bibliography

664668232

Richard Pearson

the impact of climate change on biodiversity

Explores the possible effects of global warming and climate change on more than a million species around the globe. Could more than a million species disappear in the 21st century? Drawing upon a wide range of illuminating case studies from around the world, this book provides a balanced and highly readable insight into the potential impacts of climate change on the diversity of life. Here the author assembles the evidence of how species of plants and animals have reacted to temperature changes in the past, and how they are likely to respond in the future. He shows how different species are interconnected, how subtle yet essential those connections can be, and how severing one link in the complex chain of mutual cooperation and dependency can lead to the breakdown of a once-thriving community and, ultimately, extinction. At the same time, he also explores how climate change can offer some species new opportunities even as it narrows prospects for others, highlighting the adaptability and survival techniques of some of the weirdest and most wonderful creatures on the planet

A climate for life -- Herps on hills -- To the ends of the earth -- Out of sync -- A global fingerprint -- Extinction risk -- Running to keep still -- Complex communities -- Crying wolf? -- Twenty-first-century conservation