On the Vulnerability of Biodiversity to Climate Change

Climate change is projected to emerge as a dominant cause of biodiversity loss. Let's take a journey through deep time and across the planet to critically evaluate the evidence for an impending climate-mediated extinction crisis. We'll travel back in time to examine evidence connecting past mass extinction events to climate change. We'll look back at relatively recent abrupt climate change events. Then, we'll journey across the planet to examine the modern-era impacts of climate change. We'll pay visits to iconic species in the arctic, in coral reefs, in the deserts, on mountaintops, and here in Santa Cruz. Finally, we'll look at what types of species are most vulnerable, which species face imminent extinction from climate change, and what we can do to save them.