Abstract

There is evidence that climate change is already affecting biodiversity and will continue to do so. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment ranks climate change among the main direct drivers affecting ecosystems. Consequences of climate change on the species component of biodiversity include:

•changes in distribution,

•increased extinction rates,

•changes in reproduction timings, and

•changes in length of growing seasons for plants.

Some species that are already threatened are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The following are examples of species and of their vulnerabilities.