Assessing exposure to extreme climatic events for terrestrial mammals

Conservation Letters

Eric I. Ameca y Juárez¹  Georgina M. Mace¹  Guy Cowlishaw²  William A. Cornforth² 

[1] Centre for Population Biology and Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK;Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK

关键词: Climate change;    cyclones;    droughts;    IUCN red list;    species conservation;    vulnerability;   

DOI  :  10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00306.x

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

There is robust evidence that climate change will modify the frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events. The consequences for terrestrial biota may be dramatic, but are yet to be elucidated. The well-established IUCN Red List does not, for example, include any explicit quantification of the current level of exposure to extreme climatic events in any species-based risk assessment. Using globally distributed data for cyclones and droughts as well as information on the distribution of 5,760 terrestrial mammals (species and subspecies) we: (1) define mammals with significant exposure as those with an overlap of at least 25% of their extant geographic range with areas that have been impacted by either cyclones or droughts; and (2) pinpoint those with ≥75% overlap as being at the highest exposure. Although a species’ risk of negative impacts from extreme climatic events depends not only on its exposure but also its intrinsic sensitivity and adaptive capacity, identifying taxa currently exposed can help to (1) reduce the uncertainty in identifying species least likely to be resilient to future impacts, and (2) complement extinction risk assessments and provide a more informed evaluation of current conservation status, to better guide management.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright and Photocopying: ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.