Sarah WeiskopfU.S. Geological Survey

National Climate Adaptation Science Center

An overview of climate change impacts on

ecosystems and biodiversity

Climate Adaptation Science Centers

https://www.usgs.gov/ecosystems/climate-adaptation-science-centers

Biodiversity is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history

Climate change impacts

ecosystems at multiple

scales

Weiskopf et al. 2020

Changes to Behavior

Changes to Morphology

Phenology

Changes to growing seasons

Lipton et al. 2018

Range shifts

Lenoir et al. 2020

Range shifts

Lenoir et al. 2020

Joachim S. Müller

Invasive species

Grieve et al 2016,

Species may not be keeping pace with climate change

Waples and Audzijonyte 2016

Extreme events

Matthew Abbott The New York Times

Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem Services

“The mutual reinforcing of climate change and biodiversity loss means that satisfactorily resolving either issue requires consideration of the other”

IPBES-IPCC Workshop Report, 2021

Actions that consider climate mitigation only can be harmful for biodiversity

Some actions can benefit biodiversity and contribute to climate mitigation

• Climate change will increasingly impact biodiversity and ecosystems

• These changes in ecosystems will have implications for services to people and human well-being

• Addressing climate change and biodiversity loss together will be more effective

Conclusions