Study Finds Climate Change Threat to Biodiversity

Over 3,500 Species Threatened, Nearly Half Are Terrestrial Animals

Researchers from Oregon State University conducted a study on the threat of climate change to wild animal species and biodiversity. The study, published in BioScience, assessed 70,814 species from 35 existing classes and assessed climate threat to wild species. Species data was compared with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red List of Threatened Species.

System Category	Number of Species Threatened	Percentage of Total (3,585)
Terrestrial	1,774	49.5%
Freshwater	712	19.8%
Marine	441	12.3%
“Multiple”	658	18.3%

1. Overall, 3,585 species were threatened by climate change, or about 5.1% of the total number of assessed species. The species system categories are given above.

2. There were five categories of climate change threats: 1) droughts; 2) habitat shifting or alteration; 3) storms or flooding; 4) temperature extremes; and 5) “other impacts.” The top two threats for each species system are given below.

3. The three classes with the greatest number of climate-threatened species were amphibians (662), Actinopterygii or bony fish (600), and insects (596).

4. In reference to other studies, the authors stated that some animal populations collapsed “likely due to at least partly to climate change.” These include sunflower sea stars along the Pacific Northwest (80% to 100% decline), mollusks along Israel’s coastline (about a 90% decline), and snow crabs in the Bering Sea (declined by about 10 billion).

5. The Catalogue of Life, an international collaboration of efforts and contributions from taxonomists and informaticians and up-to-date listing of known species, had at least 1,281,520 species according to the study. This number has increased since the study’s publication.

System Category	Number 1 Threat	Percentage of Species Affected	Number 2 Threat	Percentage of Species Affected
Terrestrial	Habitat Shifting or Alteration	58%	Droughts	47%
Freshwater	Droughts	85%	Habitat Shifting or Alteration	23%
Marine	Temperature Extremes	84%	Storms or Flooding	62%
“Multiple”	Habitat Shifting or Alteration	52%	Droughts	46%

Sources:

• https://news.oregonstate.edu/news/thousands-animal-species-threatened-climate-change-novel-analysis-finds

• https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biaf059/8127685

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/en

• https://www.catalogueoflife.org/about/colusage