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5.2
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Journals
Climate
Special Issues
Impacts of Climate Change on Species
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Impacts of Climate Change on Species

A special issue of Climate (ISSN 2225-1154). This special issue belongs to the section "Climate and Environment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 9304

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Anouschka Hof

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Interests: gricultural and biological sciences environmental science biochemistry; genetics and molecular biology medicine social sciences veterinary
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is currently a large, increasing interest in the impact of climate change on our environment, which stems from a rising awareness of the consequences a changing climate can have for a variety of aspects in our natural world. An alteration in population dynamics and distributions of species are among the most fundamental impacts of climate change on taxa. Furthermore, with a changing climate, the need for good conservation planning increases. Species may be able to cope with the direct effects of climate change such as raising temperatures, but perhaps not so with indirect effects such as increased competition and predation by invasive alien species. To be able to draw up effective conservation plans, we need a better understanding of how species have been affected by past climate change and will be affected by future climate change, not only with regard to shifting distribution ranges but also considering phenological and behavioral aspects as well as interactions with other species and possible adaptations. This requires, among others, sufficient and trustworthy data on species’ ecology, past, current, and future presence and environmental drivers of geographic distribution ranges, and advanced methodological approaches.

In this Special Issue, we aim to outline some of the current work on impacts of climate change on species. The goal is to establish a platform for further advancement of our knowledge on impacts of past and future climate change on species. We aim to publish a series of articles that cover various topics, targeting a multitude of species across taxa and ecosystems, and discuss the challenges and benefits of current methodological approaches, research directions, and needs for future research. In particular, we welcome submissions on the following topics:

  1. Impacts of past climate change on species distributions;
  2. Impacts of future climate change on species distributions;
  3. Impacts on species abundance;
  4. Impacts on phenology of species;
  5. Impacts on behavior of species;
  6. Impacts on species interactions;
  7. Adaptation of species to climate change;
  8. Methodological approaches to assess impacts of climate change on species.

We welcome empirical studies, original research, meta-analyses, and novel methodologies as well as reviews, perspectives, and opinions.

Dr. Anouschka Hof
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Climate is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Adaptation
  • Behavior
  • Climate change
  • Distribution
  • Ecosystem services
  • Modeling phenology
  • Species

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 2723 KiB  
Article
Climate Change Perceptions by Smallholder Coffee Farmers in the Northern and Southern Highlands of Tanzania
by Suzana G. Mbwambo, Sixbert K. Mourice and Akwilin J. P. Tarimo
Climate 2021, 9(6), 90; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cli9060090 - 02 Jun 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3808
Abstract
Smallholder farmers are among the most vulnerable groups to climate change. Efforts to enhance farmers’ adaptation to climate change are hindered by lack of information on how they are experiencing and responding to climate change. Therefore, this paper examines smallholder farmers’ perceptions of [...] Read more.
Smallholder farmers are among the most vulnerable groups to climate change. Efforts to enhance farmers’ adaptation to climate change are hindered by lack of information on how they are experiencing and responding to climate change. Therefore, this paper examines smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change, factors influencing their perceptions, and the impacts and adaptation strategies adopted over the past three to four decades. A list of farmers was obtained from the Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society (AMCOS) and filtered on the basis of age and farming experience. In order to explore factors influencing household perceptions of climate change, a structured questionnaire was administered to the randomly selected household heads. Data on rainfall and temperature were acquired from Lyamungo and Burka Coffee estate (Northern Highlands zone) and Mbimba and Mbinga (Southern Highlands zone) offices of the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) with the exception of data from Burka Coffee estate, which were acquired from a private operator. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to analyze the data. Farmers’ perceptions were consistent with meteorological data both pointing to significant decline in rainfall and increase in temperature since 1979. Factors such as level of education, farming experience, and access to climate information influenced farmers’ perception on climate change aspects. Based on these results, it is recommended to enhance timely and accurate weather information delivery along with developing institutions responsible for education and extension services provision. The focus of education or training should be on attenuating the impacts of climate change through relevant adaptation measures in each coffee-growing region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Species)
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13 pages, 3815 KiB  
Article
Predicted Future Benefits for an Endemic Rodent in the Irano-Turanian Region
by Suzanna E. J. Meeussen and Anouschka R. Hof
Climate 2021, 9(1), 16; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cli9010016 - 18 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2649
Abstract
Climate change is expected to have an impact on the geographical distribution ranges of species. Endemic species and those with a restricted geographic range may be especially vulnerable. The Persian jird (Meriones persicus) is an endemic rodent inhabiting the mountainous areas [...] Read more.
Climate change is expected to have an impact on the geographical distribution ranges of species. Endemic species and those with a restricted geographic range may be especially vulnerable. The Persian jird (Meriones persicus) is an endemic rodent inhabiting the mountainous areas of the Irano-Turanian region, where future desertification may form a threat to the species. In this study, the species distribution modelling algorithm MaxEnt was used to assess the impact of future climate change on the geographic distribution range of the Persian jird. Predictions were made under two Representative Concentration Pathways and five different climate models for the years 2050 and 2070. It was found that both bioclimatic variables and land use variables were important in determining potential suitability of the region for the species to occur. In most cases, the future predictions showed an expansion of the geographic range of the Persian jird which indicates that the species is not under immediate threat. There are however uncertainties with regards to its current range. Predictions may therefore be an over or underestimation of the total suitable area. Further research is thus needed to confirm the current geographic range of the Persian jird to be able to improve assessments of the impact of future climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Species)
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9 pages, 895 KiB  
Perspective
Does Local Adaptation Impact on the Distribution of Competing Aedes Disease Vectors?
by Kelly L. Bennett, William Owen McMillan and Jose R. Loaiza
Climate 2021, 9(2), 36; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cli9020036 - 22 Feb 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2081
Abstract
Ae. (Stegomyia) aegypti L. and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus Skuse mosquitoes are major arboviral disease vectors in human populations. Interspecific competition between these species shapes their distribution and hence the incidence of disease. While Ae. albopictus is considered a superior competitor for ecological resources [...] Read more.
Ae. (Stegomyia) aegypti L. and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus Skuse mosquitoes are major arboviral disease vectors in human populations. Interspecific competition between these species shapes their distribution and hence the incidence of disease. While Ae. albopictus is considered a superior competitor for ecological resources and displaces its contender Ae. aegypti from most environments, the latter is able to persist with Ae. albopictus under particular environmental conditions, suggesting species occurrence cannot be explained by resource competition alone. The environment is an important determinant of species displacement or coexistence, although the factors underpinning its role remain little understood. In addition, it has been found that Ae. aegypti can be adapted to the environment across a local scale. Based on data from the Neotropical country of Panama, we present the hypothesis that local adaptation to the environment is critical in determining the persistence of Ae. aegypti in the face of its direct competitor Ae. albopictus. We show that although Ae. albopictus has displaced Ae. aegypti in some areas of Panama, both species coexist across many areas, including regions where Ae. aegypti appear to be locally adapted to dry climate conditions and less vegetated environments. Based on these findings, we describe a reciprocal transplant experiment to test our hypothesis, with findings expected to provide fundamental insights into the role of environmental variation in shaping the landscape of emerging arboviral disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Species)
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