Heating Up Conservation

Ecological Consequences of Climate Change. Beever, E. A., and J. L. Belant, editors. 2012. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 336 pp. $99.95 (hardcover). ISBN 978-1-42008-720-8. Saving a Million Species: Extinction Risk from Climate Change. Hannah, L., editor. 2012. Island Press, Washington, D.C. 432 pp. $70 (hardcover). ISBN 978-1-59726-569-0. Climate and Conservation: Landscape and Seascape Science, Planning, and Action. Hilty, J. A., C. C. Chester and M. S. Cross, editors. 2012. Island Press, Washington, D.C. 416 pp. $70 (hardcover). ISBN 978-1-61091-170-2. Climate change is rewriting the practice of conservation biology as the importance and consequences of the issue for species, ecosystems, and policy has vaulted to join habitat loss as a defining issue for biological diversity loss. Climate-change biology has developed into a conservation field in its own right. This trio of books joins many others that explore facets of climate change and cover a wide diversity of topics. All follow the same structure as edited chapters. The ecosystems covered in the books are vast and range from the Arctic to coral reefs and mountains tops. It is impossible to summarize the collective 55 chapters, but the depth of insight and scholarship is truly impressive. Some authors had the luxury of a plethora of published works in their ecosystem, whereas others were scraping for the few available relevant studies and could only suggest directions for new research. A consistent theme across the papers is a sense of uncertainty: perhaps we will not lose a million species, but then perhaps we will lose a lot more. Many authors were uncomfortable predicting the future but put forth their most educated perspectives. Some authors were unwilling to attribute climate change to human activities, which is surprising given the science on this point. None of these books would fit the bill as light reading, and the litany of damages inflicted on so many species and ecosystems is at times challenging to absorb. The commonalities of so many of the studies are alarming. For developed countries, planning is well underway, whereas developing countries are only just beginning to incorporate climate change into plans for rapidly disappearing habitats. Nonetheless, there is a thread of optimism that conservation biologists will meet the challenge. Saving a Million Species is perhaps the most focused of the books because it is centered around the 2004 paper by Thomas et al. and revisits the prediction that up to 37% of the species in the areas examined were committed to extinction. With over 1800 citations, it is clear this paper has influenced conservation biology over recent years. This book provides a logical and well-considered perspective on future extinctions, and the original paper is revisited in light of new or alternative methods. The volume also provides a solid overview of both past and current extinctions for insights into what we might apply to current climate change. Perspectives drawn from deep time and more recently the Quaternary provide context to modern extinction. Chapters on extinction risk in insects, tropical forests, coral reefs, and high-latitude ecosystems are a few of the case studies explored. Recommendations for conservation action rounded out the collection nicely with a solid capstone by the editor. All these chapters were well executed, readable, and provided a solid overview of the issues. Each chapter, as with the other two books, has a solid summary of the main points and recommendations. Ecological Consequences of Climate Change examines a diverse assortment of topics that arose from a symposium of The Wildlife Society in 2007. With over 80% of the authors being North American, the global perspectives are limited and some chapters would only interest a narrow audience. Nonetheless, the United States is far ahead in many areas of climate change planning and thus the case studies provide an opportunity to jump start projects in other regions. The book has 13 chapters and examines fewer topics in greater depth than the other two volumes. The collection is varied with broad synthesis chapters on the response of butterflies, amphibian declines, and mammalian distribution to climate change. The one chapter that reviews recent climate change limits itself to western North America: useful for those working there and applicable as a model for other areas but a tad limited for most. Examination of how sandy beaches are and will be affected was a useful synthesis but reveals how little we know about how climate change will affect some ecosystems and how little we might be able to do to help them. A review of the long-term monitoring in Canadian National Parks provides insights into a possible monitoring and management scheme, but recent large staff reductions may jeopardize the program and show how vulnerable good plans can be. A parallel review of the National Wildlife Refuge System in the United States is helpful for understanding the organizational issues and challenges, but it is not overly inspiring to read because it is awash with policy perspectives and enough acronyms to break down the most hardened bureaucrat. Other chapters have a management focus that provides a useful overview of various conservation options and policy in protected areas for adaptation and carbon sequestration. At times this volume seems best suited to those with a keen interest in specific aspects of climate change. Overall, insight and style across the chapters is uneven and makes for a less consistent package; this book seems more like a collection of papers than the other two. Climate and Conservation is an easier read because each chapter tends to brevity and examines actions to protect biological diversity from ongoing and projected climate change. What is lacking in depth for each chapter is clearly made up in breadth across chapters. The diversity of ecosystems explored is most welcome, and the tight editing provides the most seamless volume of the three. Covering both poles, grasslands in Mongolia, a seascape in Fiji, freshwater ecosystems, Yellowstone to Yukon, and 19 case studies in total, the book gives one a clear overview of both well-developed climate-change programs and those in their infancy. It is clear that climate-change issues have created new challenges for conservation planning and are helping push attempts to build reserves and connectivity to address an emerging threat. Having all the references collected together aids cohesiveness and reduces redundancy. Ultimately, the core solution proposed in the book to deal with climate change is to allow movement of organisms across latitudes, altitudes, or microclimates: connectivity across large landscapes and seascapes. The pair of foundation chapters make it all seem possible, but as the concluding chapter reviews, there is plenty to learn. These three books collectively provide a benchmark of our understanding of the consequences of climate change to the early part of this century. I have discussed the books in the order that might make sense if one were wishing to delve into the issues in depth and make the commitment to reading over 1000 pages on the topic. Serious conservation biologists wishing to expand their understanding of the challenges facing biological diversity as the planet warms would benefit from reading any or all of these books. Posterity will judge whether conservation biologists were able to educate an audience broader than themselves as the challenges ahead will require commitment from all levels. One notable point lacking in all of the books is an in-depth attempt to face the root causes of climate change: overpopulation and excess use of nonrenewable fossil fuels. Until these two factors are dealt with, books such as these will have lots to write about. Future authors will have a solid foundation to explore the consequences of climate change from these three books. There is no simple solution and it is clear that we will learn as we move forward. Most authors return to the core problem directly or indirectly: continued human population growth combined with an insatiable appetite for fossil fuels will make the field of climate change biology the defining conservation issue for generations to come.

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