scholarly journals Linking zooplankton assemblages with oceanographic zones in an Atlantic coastal ecosystem

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 868-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan J. Debertin ◽  
J. Mark Hanson ◽  
Simon C. Courtenay
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Bottom Water Temperature ◽  
Surface Water Salinity ◽  
State Of The Environment ◽  
Atlantic Coastal

Shallow (5–35 m depth) coastal waters, with their proximity to human populations, are likely to experience greater changes to ecosystem structure and functions from climate change and human impacts than offshore waters. Concerns of declining fisheries landings and deteriorating habitat quality in Northumberland Strait led to an assessment by Fisheries and Oceans Canada of the state of the environment and biota including zooplankton during the summer. In this paper we describe spatial structure of zooplankton (three distinct assemblages) and determined that two oceanographic zones can explain the spatial variation. Using distance-based linear models, bottom water temperature and surface water salinity explained 16% to 25% of the variation in zooplankton composition for each year of the survey. We used retrospective analyses to estimate what the zooplankton assemblage may have resembled in the early 1990s from data of oceanographic conditions. Given the prediction of warming oceans by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we provide a means of predicting zooplankton composition and their distribution, with implications for the planktivorous fishes that prey upon them.

5th International Conference on Environmental Future: climate change and the future state of the world's aquatic ecosystems

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas V.C. Polunin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Extensive Growth ◽  
The Moment

The level of recognition of human impacts on climate, contained in the third assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2001), surely represents a turning point in human history. Some impacts can now be factored into predictions of future states of the world's ecosystems, and, though some powerful countries may for the moment indicate otherwise, it is certainly more difficult now to ignore the concept of global human impacts on the environment and doubt their seriousness. But there are potential pit-falls in this progression; it worries me that attention to incremental albeit significant rises in sea level, for example, may divert serious concern away from the consequences of the ongoing intensive and extensive growth of human population, the sizeable global impact of which on the environment and human society can scarcely either be debated. Environmental science is challenging; it aspires to holism, but the resources and scientific tools are such that it can only very rarely be holistic at anything other than very small scale. And different disciplines can be disappointingly inarticulate in truly interdisciplinary work. Environmental science tilts at comprehensive global understanding, but the problems of extrapolating to that scale are for the most part insuperable. The scientists, typically reticent about erring beyond the disciplinary or geographical boundaries of their work, yet those most trained to deliver objective information, risk becoming an undervalued resource. The danger is that awkward strategic decisions will be made with much less certainty or at least consensus than they should.

scholarly journals Past, Present, and Future Changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

2012 ◽  
Vol 93 (11) ◽  
pp. 1663-1676 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Srokosz ◽  
M. Baringer ◽  
H. Bryden ◽  
S. Cunningham ◽  
T. Delworth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Surface Air Temperature ◽  
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
The Future ◽  
Meridional Overturning

Observations and numerical modeling experiments provide evidence for links between variability in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and global climate patterns. Reduction in the strength of the overturning circulation is thought to have played a key role in rapid climate change in the past and may have the potential to significantly influence climate change in the future, as noted in the last two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports (Houghton et al.; Solomon et al.). Both IPCC reports also highlighted the significant uncertainties that exist regarding the future behavior of the AMOC under global warming. Model results suggest that changes in the AMOC can impact surface air temperature, precipitation patterns, and sea level, particularly in areas bordering the North Atlantic, thus affecting human populations. Here, the current understanding of past, present, and future changes in the AMOC and the effects of such changes on climate are reviewed. The focus is on observations of the AMOC, how the AMOC influences climate, and in what way the AMOC is likely to change over the next few decades and the twenty-first century. The potential for decadal prediction of the AMOC is also discussed. Finally, the outstanding challenges and possible future directions for AMOC research are outlined.

Transformation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen J. Esler ◽  
Anna L. Jacobsen ◽  
R. Brandon Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Mountainous Areas ◽  
Drivers Of Change ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Natural Landscapes ◽  
Habitat Conversion ◽  
Residential Use

Extensive habitat loss and habitat conversion has occurred across all mediterranean-type climate (MTC) regions, driven by increasing human populations who have converted large tracts of land to production, transport, and residential use (land-use, land-cover change) while simultaneously introducing novel forms of disturbance to natural landscapes. Remaining habitat, often fragmented and in isolated or remote (mountainous) areas, is threatened and degraded by altered fire regimes, introduction of invasive species, nutrient enrichment, and climate change. The types and impacts of these threats vary across MTC regions, but overall these drivers of change show little signs of abatement and many have the potential to interact with MTC region natural systems in complex ways.

scholarly journals Complete genomes of two extinct New Zealand passerines show responses to climate fluctuations but no evidence for genomic erosion prior to extinction

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 20190491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Dussex ◽  
Johanna von Seth ◽  
Michael Knapp ◽  
Olga Kardailsky ◽  
Bruce C. Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
Genomic Diversity ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
Forest Clearing ◽  
Mammalian Predators ◽  
Demographic Trajectories ◽  
Human Climate

Human intervention, pre-human climate change (or a combination of both), as well as genetic effects, contribute to species extinctions. While many species from oceanic islands have gone extinct due to direct human impacts, the effects of pre-human climate change and human settlement on the genomic diversity of insular species and the role that loss of genomic diversity played in their extinctions remains largely unexplored. To address this question, we sequenced whole genomes of two extinct New Zealand passerines, the huia ( Heteralocha acutirostris ) and South Island kōkako ( Callaeas cinereus ). Both species showed similar demographic trajectories throughout the Pleistocene. However, the South Island kōkako continued to decline after the last glaciation, while the huia experienced some recovery. Moreover, there was no indication of inbreeding resulting from recent mating among closely related individuals in either species. This latter result indicates that population fragmentation associated with forest clearing by Maōri may not have been strong enough to lead to an increase in inbreeding and exposure to genomic erosion. While genomic erosion may not have directly contributed to their extinctions, further habitat fragmentation and the introduction of mammalian predators by Europeans may have been an important driver of extinction in huia and South Island kōkako.

scholarly journals Global evidence of constraints and limits to human adaptation

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adelle Thomas ◽  
Emily Theokritoff ◽  
Alexandra Lesnikowski ◽  
Diana Reckien ◽  
Kripa Jagannathan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Behavioral Adaptation ◽  
Human Adaptation ◽  
Small Islands ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Adaptation Response ◽  
Cultural Constraints ◽  
Global Evidence

AbstractConstraints and limits to adaptation are critical to understanding the extent to which human and natural systems can successfully adapt to climate change. We conduct a systematic review of 1,682 academic studies on human adaptation responses to identify patterns in constraints and limits to adaptation for different regions, sectors, hazards, adaptation response types, and actors. Using definitions of constraints and limits provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we find that most literature identifies constraints to adaptation but that there is limited literature focused on limits to adaptation. Central and South America and Small Islands generally report greater constraints and both hard and soft limits to adaptation. Technological, infrastructural, and ecosystem-based adaptation suggest more evidence of constraints and hard limits than other types of responses. Individuals and households face economic and socio-cultural constraints which also inhibit behavioral adaptation responses and may lead to limits. Finance, governance, institutional, and policy constraints are most prevalent globally. These findings provide early signposts for boundaries of human adaptation and are of high relevance for guiding proactive adaptation financing and governance from local to global scales.

Collective Risk and Distributional Equity in Climate Change Bargaining

2021 ◽  
pp. 002200272110273
Author(s):  
Aseem Mahajan ◽  
Reuben Kline ◽  
Dustin Tingley
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Characteristic Feature ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Bargaining Model ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Climate Negotiations ◽  
Collective Risk ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Alternating Offers ◽  
International Climate Negotiations

International climate negotiations occur against the backdrop of increasing collective risk: the likelihood of catastrophic economic loss due to climate change will continue to increase unless and until global mitigation efforts are sufficient to prevent it. We introduce a novel alternating-offers bargaining model that incorporates this characteristic feature of climate change. We test the model using an incentivized experiment. We manipulate two important distributional equity principles: capacity to pay for mitigation of climate change and vulnerability to its potentially catastrophic effects. Our results show that less vulnerable parties do not exploit the greater vulnerability of their bargaining partners. They are, rather, more generous. Conversely, parties with greater capacity are less generous in their offers. Both collective risk itself and its importance in light of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report make it all the more urgent to better understand this crucial strategic feature of climate change bargaining.

scholarly journals Welcome to Hydrogen—A New International and Interdisciplinary Open Access Journal of Growing Interest in Our Society

Hydrogen ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-92
Author(s):  
George E. Marnellos ◽  
Thomas Klassen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Open Access Journal ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Ipcc Report

The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report [...]

scholarly journals Application of a 1 km2 resolution model for climate change effects upon Benin and Nigeria vegetable agriculture

GEOMATICA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
Colin Minielly ◽  
O. Clement Adebooye ◽  
P.B. Irenikatche Akponikpe ◽  
Durodoluwa J. Oyedele ◽  
Dirk de Boer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Climate Modelling ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Amaranthus Cruentus ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Climate Change Effects

Climate change and food security are complex global issues that require multidisciplinary approaches to resolve. A nexus exists between both issues, especially in developing countries, but little prior research has successfully bridged the divide. Existing resolutions to climate change and food security are expensive and resource demanding. Climate modelling is at the forefront of climate change literature and development planning, whereas agronomy research is leading food security plans. The Benin Republic and Nigeria have grown and developed in recent years but may not have all the tools required to implement and sustain long-term food security in the face of climate change. The objective of this paper is to describe the development and outputs of a new model that bridges climate change and food security. Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 5th Regional Assessment (IPCC AR5) were combined with a biodiversity database to develop the model to derive these outputs. The model was used to demonstrate what potential impacts climate change will have on the regional food security by incorporating agronomic data from four local underutilized indigenous vegetables (Amaranthus cruentus L., Solanum macrocarpon L., Telfairia occidentalis Hook f., and Ocimum gratissimum L.). The model shows that, by 2099, there is significant uncertainty within the optimal recommendations that originated from the MicroVeg project. This suggests that MicroVeg will not have long-term success for food security unless additional options (e.g., new field trials, shifts in vegetable grown) are considered, creating the need for need for more dissemination tools.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Communicating the Uncertainty of Climate Change to Policymakers: A Study of IPCC Synthesis Reports

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2466
Author(s):  
Tomas Molina ◽  
Ernest Abadal
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
The Public ◽  
Level Of Confidence ◽  
Ipcc Report ◽  
Degree Of Certainty ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tackle Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports on climate change have served to alert both the public and policymakers about the scope of the predicted changes and the effects they would have on natural and economic systems. The first IPCC report was published in 1990, since which time a further four have been produced. The aim of this study was to conduct a content analysis of the IPCC Summaries for Policymakers in order to determine the degree of certainty associated with the statements they contain. For each of the reports we analyzed all statements containing expressions indicating the corresponding level of confidence. The aggregated results show a shift over time towards higher certainty levels, implying a “Call to action” (from 32.8% of statements in IPCC2 to 70.2% in IPCC5). With regard to the international agreements drawn up to tackle climate change, the growing level of confidence expressed in the IPCC Summaries for Policymakers reports might have been a relevant factor in the history of decision making.

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