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CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 0
IUCN SSC
Climate Change
Specialist Group
Newsletter
VOLUME 2 ♦ OCTOBER 2019
© Jairo Soares, Unsplash
CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 1
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
The CCSG has won the IUCN SSC Chair’s Citation of Excellence - congratulations! The award was given to the group
for ‘Outstanding contributions in delivering the Species Strategic Plan during the 2017-2018 period’ and I’m proud to
have received this on the CCSG’s behalf at an awards ceremony at the IUCN SSC Leaders’ Meeting in Abu Dhabi. These
awards are made once every four years and affirms the value of our contributions in meeting the SSC’s vision (see box
below). Thank you all for your hard and valuable work.
On a more sobering note, as the Amazon and Arctic burn and the Arctic and glaciers melt, the need for action to tackle
climate change becomes ever clearer and more urgent. I feel deep distress at watching these catastrophes unfold, despite
our communities’ very best efforts to provide warnings and motivate for the actions needed to prevent them. They’ve
arrived much sooner than I expected, and with CO2 concentrations at 409 ppm and steadily increasing, I’m deeply
concerned.
Thankfully, a groundswell of awareness is growing, with Greta
Thunberg’s unflinching and courageous speeches urging the world to
listen to scientists. I couldn’t be more relieved that, unlike the many
who feel helpless and despondent in the face of these challenges, I am
in a position to make a real difference. Working in the field of climate
change and biodiversity science is a great privilege and I count myself
incredibly fortunate to collaborate in this with you. Thank you for
your passion, dedication and excellence.
Next June, conservation representatives will descend on Marseilles,
France from all corners of the world for the IUCN’s World
Conservation Congress. The meeting includes a week-long forum in
which IUCN members (i.e. most countries and large conservation
organisations) meet UN-style to discuss and vote on member-
authored resolutions that set conservation targets and priorities from
2020-2024. These include calls for IUCN members and the secretariat to take specific actions on issues ranging from
whaling and rhino poaching to tackling broader threats and region-specific challenges. Over 220 resolutions were
submitted, including 95 related to climate change and 18 specifically focused on climate change (three of which the CCSG
helped develop). The lead up to the meeting will see red-hot debate and ruthless campaigning around contentious
resolutions and I suspect many of you will be drawn into these sagas. Vicky Romero, our Policy Theme lead, works within
the IUCN secretariat in Switzerland where resolutions are coordinated so watch this space for reports from the coal face.
Sincerely,
Wendy Foden, Chair
IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group
Members of the CCSG Steering Committee.
The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) is a science-based network of more than 8,000 volunteer experts from almost every country in the world, all working together towards achieving the vision of:
‘A just world that values and conserves nature through positive action to reduce the loss of diversity of life on
earth.’
Most members are deployed in more than 160 Specialist Groups, Red List Authorities, Task Forces and Conservation Committees. Some groups address conservation issues related to particular groups of plants, fungi or animals, while others focus on topical issues such as wildlife health and reintroduction of species into former habitats. For more information about the SSC see IUCN’s website.
CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 2
Vulnerability
• Adaptive capacity: The linchpin for understanding and addressing species’ vulnerability to climate change (Bruce Stein, Lindsey Thurman & Erik Beever)
• Maintaining and updating the CCVA Guidelines (Wendy Foden & Bruce Young)
• Climate science (Damien Fordham, Andrew Hartley & Stephen Vavrus)
• Pilot study: Incorporating Red List assessments with climate change models and species’ vulnerability for amphibians in Colombia (Nicolette Roach & Thomas Lacher)
• The impacts of climate change and future human pressures on terrestrial bird and mammal biodiversity (Stephen Willis)
• Modelling support (Richard Pearson)
• Red List and climate change (Helen Regan & David Keith)
• Land use and climate change (Maria Santos & Adam Smith)
• Species’ vulnerability to climate extremes (Eric Ameca)
• Desert plants in the southwestern United States (Nifer Wilkening)
Impacts • Understanding the dangers that Bioenergy with
Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) poses to
biodiversity (Rachel Warren)
• Incorporating human responses to climate change
into biodiversity threat assessments (Nikhil Advani
& Jamie Carr)
• Which species have been affected by climate
change and why? (James Pearce-Higgins & Brett
Scheffers)
• Validating modelled changes in biodiversity using
targeted monitoring to improve predictions of
change and risk (Guy Midgley & Roberto Cazzolla
Gatti)
• Reforesting for the climate of tomorrow: Trait-
based assessment of Borneo trees (Wendy Foden
& Jamie Carr)
SSC Outreach • Assisting the Invasive Species Specialist Group
with a special report on invasive species and climate change (Jamie Carr & Brian Huntley)
• Information search and synthesis (Paul Pearce-Kelly)
• Ongoing support to other specialist groups as needed (Jamie Carr)
Policy • Is ecosystem-based adaptation a panacea for
biodiversity conservation? (Dave Hole & James Watson)
• Ensuring KBAs are climate smart (James Watson)
• Climate change in regional and global assessments (Piero Visconti, Stu Butchart & Carlo Rondinini)
CCSG Activities
Adaptation
• Reviewing evidence and guidance to inform adaptation (James Pearce-Higgins & Wendy Foden)
• Genetic rescue and climate change adaptability (Laura Thompson & Ary Hoffmann)
• Criteria for using historical knowledge to better inform the conservation management of future biodiversity under climate change (Damien Fordham)
• Promoting innovation and creativity in the design of adaptation strategies (Bruce Stein & Wendy Foden)
• Opportunities for biodiversity conservation arising from human climate change adaptation and mitigation (Lesley Hughes & Stephen Garnett)
• Using paleoecology to better understand species’ and ecosystems’ resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change (Steve Jackson & Brian Huntley)
• Guidelines for assessing social impacts of climate change adaptation (Shannon Hagerman & Stephen Garnett)
• Incorporating climate change into species conservation planning (Tara Martin)
© David Clode, Unsplash
CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 3
IUCN SSC Leaders’ Meeting .
Representing more than 8,000 members and 160 specialist groups of the Species Survival Commission, SSC
leaders from around the world gathered in Abu Dhabi from 6-9 October to plan conservation actions, set
priorities for the next quadrennium, and ignite change.
In his opening address, SSC Chair Jon Paul Rodriguez highlighted the IUCN SSC Guidelines for Assessing
Species’ Vulnerability to Climate Change. CCSG Chair Wendy Foden gave a plenary presentation on the group’s
activities and accomplishments over the last four years. The days that followed were filled with meetings and
strategic sessions, evaluating avenues for potential collaborations with multiple specialist groups including the
African Elephant Specialist Group, the Snapper, Seabream, and Grunt Specialist Group, the Polar Bear Specialist
Group, and the Coral Specialist Group. Ten specialist groups on the Marine Conservation Committee alone
highlighted climate change as a significant threat to their species and have requested a call with our group to
discuss the issues in more depth.
CCSG members Wendy Foden, Resit Akçakaya, Tom Lacher and Programme Officer Caitlin Kelly hosted a well
attended two-hour workshop on how to better integrate climate change vulnerability into Red List assessments.
The CCSG’s expertise, skills, and knowledge are needed now more than ever and there is keen interest from the
SSC community in learning more about climate change impacts, vulnerability, adaptation, and integration with
Red List assessments. To answer this call, the CCSG will be developing Red Listing training materials on climate
change in the coming months. If you are interested in joining the advisory committee for this project, please email
The meeting concluded with an urgent call to halt species decline by 2030. The IUCN has appealed to the world’s
governments, international agencies, and the private sector to massively scale up species conservation action,
prevent human-driven extinctions, and improve the conservation status of threatened species. You can read the
full IUCN press release or the call to action (available in both English and Arabic).
#WeAreSSC
CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 4
Left: CCSG Chair Wendy Foden gave a plenary
presentation on CCSG activities and
accomplishments over the last four years during
the IUCN SSC Leaders’ Meeting in Abu Dhabi 6-
9 October 2019.
Right: The CCSG was awarded the SSC Chair’s Citation
of Excellence for outstanding contributions to the Species
Strategic Plan between 2017-2018. CCSG Chair Wendy
Foden accepted the award on behalf of the group, and is
pictured here with Resit Akçakaya, co-leader of the
CCSG’s work on vulnerability, and Programme Officer
Caitlin Kelly.
Left: CCSG Chair Wendy Foden was also individually
awarded the George Rabb Award for Conservation
Innovation. Nominated by fellow SSC members, the
award recognized Wendy’s “outstanding innovation
and creativity in species conservation.” It also cited her
“dynamic and thoughtful leadership of SSC’s work on
climate change, especially for breaking new boundaries
in the use of traits-based analyses and the IUCN SSC
Guidelines for Assessing Species’ Vulnerability to
Climate Change.” The award is granted to two
scientists every four years, and has only been awarded
twice previously. Of the six recipients – two are CCSG
members (Wendy Foden and Resit Akçakaya)!
Right: CCSG Chair Wendy Foden was interviewed
during the Leaders’ Meeting in Abu Dhabi about
conservation success stories and how the CCSG is
helping the conservation community tackle climate
change.
CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 5
Updates and Accomplishments .
Advances in understanding and applying adaptive capacity to improve adaptation outcomes
Bruce Stein, co-leader of the CCSG’s work on adaptation, organized a symposium April 23-25 as part of
the US National Adaptation Forum in Madison, Wisconsin. The symposium explored new advances in
understanding and the application of adaptive capacity in vulnerability assessments and adaptation
planning. After introducing and reviewing the key concepts in adaptive capacity, the symposium
highlighted new research and emerging findings on the nature of adaptive capacity and how these
developments can be translated into real world applications.
The well-attended symposium featured multiple members of the CCSG, who spoke about the role of evolution in adaptation responses, described new approaches for enhancing intrinsic adaptive capacity, and presented a new attributes-based framework for evaluating and visualizing species’ adaptive capacity.
Assessing the conservation potential of fish and corals
in aquariums globally
A team of researchers, including two members of the CCSG,
assessed the conservation potential of 3,370 fish and coral species
held in 594 aquariums and zoos worldwide. Their study,
published in the Journal for Nature Conservation, analysed,
standardized, and shared data from Species360 zoological
institutions. The team found that aquariums hold four species
listed on the IUCN Red List as “extinct in the wild” and 31% of
Anthozoa species listed by Foden et al. (2013) as vulnerable to
climate change. Zoos and aquariums also hold 21% of coral
species listed as Vulnerable to Climate Change (VCC),
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE), and
assessed by the IUCN Red List.
For more information, see the Species360 press release here.
New technology enables better mapping of where species live
A team of researchers, led by IUCN’s Chief Scientist Dr. Thomas Brooks,
has developed a new method for deriving a high-resolution map of where a
species might live, called its “Area of Habitat.”
Calculating a species’ Area of Habitat (AOH) requires linking the habitat
data to remotely sensed land cover data, and linking these to maps of
elevation. This technique, recently published in Trends in Ecology and
Evolution, has already been applied to generate AOH maps for more than
20,000 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians.
For more information, see the IUCN press release here.
© Jean-Louis Paulin, Unsplash
CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 6
New adaptation guide for U.S. Department of Defense
Natural Resource Managers
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) owns or manages more than 25
million acres of land that support numerous rare and endangered species.
These DoD installations are predicted to experience significant climate
impacts, which could compromise their capacity to support the military
mission and undermine DoD’s ability to protect and restore native species
and ecosystems.
Climate Adaptation for DoD Natural Resource Managers provides an
overview of how climatic changes may impact military lands and resources
and offers managers detailed adaptation planning worksheets. Spearheaded
by CCSG member Bruce Stein, the guide was developed by the National
Wildlife Federation with support from DoD.
Persecuting, protecting, or ignoring biodiversity under
climate change
As species shift their distributions in response to climate
change, they will not only cross into new habitats, but also
into new geopolitical areas. A new perspective paper
published in Nature Climate Change describes the historical
archetypes of managing species redistribution - persecution,
protection and ignorance. Co-authored by CCSG member
Brett Scheffers, the paper argues for an increase in
transboundary monitoring and management, and the
development of global shared governance agreements to cope
with species redistributions in a rapidly warming world.
Adapting for extremes
A news and views commentary article recently published in Nature
Ecology & Evolution, highlights a study finding evidence of selection for
aggressive phenotypes in colonies of Anelosimus studiosus, a social spider
subject to hurricane exposure. The news & views commentary, authored
by CCSG member Eric Ameca, emphasizes that there is a paucity of
research investigating how climate extremes influence evolutionary
processes (through local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity) as most
studies are based on opportunistic observations of population responses
post-disturbance. Eric's view is that more longitudinal studies integrating
spatiotemporal replications and control sites (accounting for differences
in habitat structure and quality) are needed as they can also play a role
in shaping the strength of selection pressures. Studying evolutionary
change in response to disturbance caused by extreme climatic events is a
pressing research avenue.
© Judy Gallagher, Wikimedia Commons
© Priscilla Du Preez, Unsplash
CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 7
Primate vulnerability to extreme climatic events
A study from the CCSG’s Climate Extremes Activity Team, published in
Nature Climate Change, assessed the vulnerability of the world’s primates to
cyclones and droughts, identifying the hotspot areas where they are found
and helping to facilitate the prioritisation of species and places for
effective risk mitigation. Following the IUCN SSC Guidelines for
Assessing Species’ Vulnerability to Climate Change the study analysed
primates’ sensitivities and adaptive capacities associated with their intrinsic
biological traits, while considering their exposure to cyclones and droughts
over the past 45 years. Primates’ conservation status in the IUCN Red List
was considered as a proxy of the amount of extrinsic pressure (apart from
climate extremes) in the assessment. The study found that 16% of primate
taxa are vulnerable to cyclones (particularly those endemic to Madagascar),
and 22% of primate taxa are vulnerable to droughts (particularly species
found in the Malaysia Peninsula, North Borneo, Sumatra, and tropical
moist forests of West Africa). The findings call for increased efforts to
investigate the context-specific mechanisms underpinning vulnerability to
extreme climatic events.
The study is part of ongoing work under the CCSG’s Vulnerability
Theme, led by Eric I. Ameca. Eric’s research focuses on how species,
populations, and areas of conservation value become increasingly
threatened by the compounding impacts of climate extremes, human
pressures, and their responses to climate change.
A new CCSG activity assessing desert plants
One new activity was approved by the Steering Committee
last quarter. Falling under the group’s work on Vulnerability, Nifer Wilkening
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has joined our ranks and will be
conducting a vulnerability assessment of threatened and endangered desert
plants in the southwestern United States. This activity is part of a multi-year
collaborative effort to develop a better understanding of climate change
impacts and a framework for prioritizing future conservation actions. We wish
Nifer a warm welcome to the CCSG and look forward to reporting on her
exciting project!
Spanish guidelines for assessing species’ vulnerability to climate
change…coming soon!
In 2016, the CCSG published the IUCN SSC Guidelines for Assessing Species’
Vulnerability to Climate Change to help ease the challenge that conservation
practitioners face in using and interpreting climate change vulnerability
assessments (CCVAs). These guidelines have now been translated into Spanish
and are scheduled for release in the coming weeks.
Interested in working on species’ vulnerability to climate extremes? Two 2-year postdoctoral fellowships are currently available on Eric’s team. For more information see the ad on page 7 or contact Eric at
© Alan Lee
The endangered Verreaux’s sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi), is a member of the lemur family and native to Madagascar. An arboreal specialist, this primate has moderate vulnerability to droughts but extremely high vulnerability to cyclones.
© Lyubing Zhang
SPECIES IN THE
SPOTLIGHT
Climate change is expected to have severe and irreversible effects on Southeast Asian amphibians and reptiles, such as this panther flying frog. Completely dependent on free-standing water for reproduction, these amphibians are severely affected by changes in patterns of when and how much rain falls.
© David Bickford
CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 8
Meet the Members .
Want to Get More Involved with the CCSG? .
Design a new CCSG activity. You can view a current list of activities on our website categorized
under our three overarching themes: climate adaptation, vulnerability (including our brand new
modelling support page), and impacts of climate change. This can be a project or idea in our field that
would benefit from IUCN’s policy, media or practitioner outreach, or from a platform to attract
collaborators and/or funders. Simply drop our Programme Officer ([email protected]) a note
and we will send you a template with which to elaborate on your idea and send back to us.
BRIAN HUNTLEY,
VULNERABILITY THEME CO-LEAD
Affiliations: Brian is an Emeritus Professor in the Biosciences Department at Durham University and a member of the Behaviour, Ecology, and Evolution Research (BEER) Centre. He began researching climate change impacts in the 1980’s and his work spans the fields of ecology, palaeoecology, biogeography, and conservation biology. Interests: Biogeography, ecology, impacts of environmental change upon organisms and ecosystems, Quaternary palaeoecology and palaeoenvironments. Fun Fact: Brian is currently designing and laying out a
new garden at the ‘eco-home’ he and his wife have had
built in southwest Scotland for their retirement.
H. RESIT AKÇAKAYA,
VULNERABILITY THEME CO-LEAD
Affiliations: Resit is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University in New York, USA. His current research focuses on assessing the vulnerability of species to extinction due to climate change and quantifying conservation success for an IUCN Green List of Species. Resit chairs the Red List Standards and Petitions Subcommitee at the IUCN and is one of the principal architects of the RAMAS library of software. Interests: Conservation biology, population and metapopulation dynamics, modelling, risk assessment, red-listing. Fun Fact: Resit enjoys birding and photography; you can see
some of his bird photos on ebird.
Species on the Move CCSG Meet and Greet
The CCSG held a special information session at the
Species on the Move Conference in Kruger National
Park, South Africa. CCSG Chair, Wendy Foden spoke
about the group’s mission, activities, and
achievements, answering questions from potential
members and highlighting the CCSG’s global impact
during the reception held at the park’s riverside boma.
CCSG Newsletter ♦ October 2019 Volume 2 ♦ Page 9
Want to Get More Involved with the CCSG?
Design a new CCSG activity. This can be a project or idea in our field that would benefit from
IUCN’s policy, media, or practitioner outreach, or from using our platform to attract collaborators
and/or funders. A current list of CCSG activities can be found on page 2, or visit the CCSG website
for more information. If you have any questions or would like to submit a new activity for review,
please email our Programme Officer, Caitlin Kelly, at [email protected].
Let our Programme Officer know about upcoming papers, events, and accomplishments so we
can help advertise your event or highlight your work. Don’t forget to list your IUCN CCSG affiliation
on activity-related articles and publications.
Draft an article for our next newsletter to keep your fellow members updated on your work.
Visit our website (ccsg-iucn.com) for more information, resources and to stay up to date on the latest
CCSG events and activities.
Connect with us on social media! The CCSG has recently launched new Facebook (IUCN SSC
Climate Change Specialist Group) and Twitter (@IUCN_CCSG) accounts. Please share widely with
your labs, students, and colleagues and email our Programme Officer at [email protected] to
coordinate any communications outreach or social media coverage.
Two 2-year postdoctoral fellowships are available for outstanding young researchers within Eric Ameca’s
team based at the Key Lab for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Beijing Normal University.
In collaboration with other members of the CCSG, Eric and his team use a variety of approaches and types
of data (demographic, ecological, spatial, phylogenetic, climatic and anthropogenic) to investigate the
impacts of extreme climatic events. Research objectives include 1) how biological traits may increase or
decrease vulnerability to extreme climatic events; 2) what are the ecological and evolutionary consequences
of these events on populations and species; and 3) how areas of conservation value become threatened by
climate change and human pressures.
Are you working on these themes? Candidates that meet essential qualifications (available here) are
welcome to send the following materials for evaluation:
1) CV (<5 pages);
2) Statement of general interests linked to a research plan with (i) 1-2 questions the candidate
proposes to engage in during the two-year postdoc period; (ii) an outline of the methods to be used;
(iii) the study species or system; and (iv) expected impact of the findings (<5 pages).
3) The name and contact details of two academic references.
Materials should be sent by email to [email protected] (Subject: Postdoc Vacancy –
Applicant’s Name). Gross annual salary: 300,000 Chinese RMB (~38,400 Euros) and annual housing
allowance of 50,000 RMB (~6,400 Euros) plus other benefits (relocation costs, conference attendance,
etc.). Applications received by 20 December 2019 are guaranteed consideration.
You are welcome to contact Eric at the email address above to discuss possible project options before
sending your formal application. Eric believes that diversity is fundamental to more creative and productive
research groups, and welcomes and encourages diverse applicants.
© NASA, Unsplash