title: The broad footprint of climate change from genes to biomes to people.
abstract: Most ecological processes now show responses to anthropogenic climate change. In terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, species are changing genetically, physiologically, morphologically, and phenologically and are shifting their distributions, which affects food webs and results in new interactions. Disruptions scale from the gene to the ecosystem and have documented consequences for people, including unpredictable fisheries and crop yields, loss of genetic diversity in wild crop varieties, and increasing impacts of pests and diseases. In addition to the more easily observed changes, such as shifts in flowering phenology, we argue that many hidden dynamics, such as genetic changes, are also taking place. Understanding shifts in ecological processes can guide human adaptation strategies. In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, climate action and policy must therefore focus equally on strategies that safeguard biodiversity and ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0430, USA. brett.scheffers@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Brett R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Scheffers
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Ch. De Beriotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Meester
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville QLD 4811, Australia.|Queensland Museum, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia.
authors.forename: Tom C L
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Bridge
authors.affiliation: Bio21 Institute, School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Ary A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pandolfi
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China.
authors.forename: Richard T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Corlett
authors.affiliation: BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.|Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
authors.forename: Stuart H M
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Butchart
authors.affiliation: Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pearce-Kelly
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Polar Institute, FRAM Centre, 9296 Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Kit M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kovacs
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dudgeon
authors.affiliation: Global Mammal Assessment Program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza Università di Roma, Viale dell'Università 32, I-00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pacifici
authors.affiliation: Global Mammal Assessment Program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza Università di Roma, Viale dell'Università 32, I-00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rondinini
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, P/Bag X1, Matieland, 7602 Stellenbosch, South Africa.
authors.forename: Wendy B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Foden
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Tara G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
authors.forename: Camilo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mora
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, 117543, Singapore.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bickford
authors.affiliation: School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.|Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA.
authors.forename: James E M
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Watson
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D057231:Climate Change; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics; D005398:Fisheries; D020387:Food Chain; D005618:Fresh Water; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012744:Sex Ratio