Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity in Australia: A Literature Review

This literature review discusses the effects of climate change on biodiversity in Australia, with a focus on vulnerable species in rainforest communities. It includes tools used for identifying climate changes and their effects, as well as potential conservation strategies.

[Date] Environmental systems
and climate change
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Climate changes is deliberated a major threat towards biodiversity because
environmental distribution of right habitat for several plant species is likely to transform with
wide series of growths and reductions in few cases enhancing the major risk that is related to
population isolation. This literature review include various tools used for identifying the
changes in the climate and its effects according to many authors. Vulnerable species that are
majorly seen in rainforest groups are measured to be very predominantly vulnerable to
changes in climate because of the traits that include narrow thermal tolerances, moderately
minor population sizes and constrained distributions as well. Historical changes in the climate
which has taken place in late Quaternary Period has led to major contraction of Australian
rainforest majorly affected the refuge who persisted below historical climate fluctuations.
Nevertheless, this report also contains huge changes in temperature and variation in
precipitation under the projected variations in climate have potential to contract or increase
the range of habitat of already existing patchy rainforest communities in Australia.
Subtropical rainforests dwell the interface that takes place between tropical and temperate
influences, therefore projected changes in the conditions of climate have an adverse impact on
those communities. Subtropical rainforest communities that are found in Southeast
Queensland have a huge number of species diversity and it contains large number of
endangered and exposed species. However, vegetarians in these regions are highly fragmented
and nearly 56% of the major vegetarians are removed because of extensive terrestrial clearing
and large species are now at hazard of destruction (Sgro, Lowe & Hoffmann, 2011). Here the
following literature review will discuss the major ideas of many authors based on the climatic
effects on Australia.
According to the study conducted by Proosdij (2016), it was found that changes in the
climate has adversely affected the huge number of species particularly to plants in the entire
world. Species distribution model also known as SDMs are widely used for project future
habitat dispersals of a species by using climate change scenarios. This model is positively
useful on minor numbers of incidence archives. One of the widely used is the genus Triunia
which contain four different species that takes place in tropical to subtropical Australian
rainforests between north Queensland and northern New South Wales. Similarly, Tribunia
Robusta is very long-lasting, subtropical rainforest shrub which has been described to have
less than 750 adult plants enduring across 17 small inhabitants in Southeast Queensland and is

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defined as Endangered by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
1999 (EPBC Act), and IUCN Red List of threatened plants. Practical evidences recommends
that Tribunia Robusta has earlier low levels of gene flow and very few dispersion among
inhabitants. Tribunia Robusta night have been more ample in the scenario of landscape which
is former to territory division which follows the European settlements. The major impact of
changes in the climate in the species habitat requires investigation that will enable planning in
order to upkeep its conservation and persistence in near future (Shimizu-Kimura, Accad &
Shapcott, 2017).
Later according to Parmesan & Yohe (2003), it was thoroughly investigated and
potential changes in dispersal of climate appropriate habitation for Tribunia Robusta below
several temperature changes in order to recognize refuge or likely translocation locations for
upcoming population super vision. A special investigation includes some of the major
questions like at which place the inhabitants of Tribunia Robusta found in eastern Australia
lives, what type of flora communities do they ensue in, and how are they appropriate will that
habitat be in upcoming days. Another issue is the range of species distribution which is totally
dependent on the present locations describing the climatic suitability of surroundings for
Tribunia Robusta which is probable to withdraw or increase with reply to climate variations
and the last issue is which inhabitants inside the species circulation series are more
prospective to persist beneath anticipated climate alteration (Pandolfi, Connolly, Marshall &
Cohen, 2011).
Methods
Two major tests were conducted and investigated. The first one is eastern Australia
(the political jurisdictions of Queensland and New South Wales), integrating the presently
recognized distribution of Tribunia in Australia which is centered on herbarium receipt
records. The second one is Southeast Queensland surrounding the identified distribution
variety of Tribunia Robusta. All majorly 17 well known population were stayed and residence
of the nearly centroid of every population was precisely noted by a handheld GPS device. The
trial size taken was in the variety of sample records in order to create accurate SDMs
(Wernberg et al., 2011).

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According to Hilbert, Ostendorf & Hopkinsand (2001), it was argued that
contemporary changes in the climate above the last 100yeras has caused variations in the
habitat circulation of several species by this time (Laurance et al., 2011). Habitat distributions
of numerous species of plant which are found in hot and subtropical area of coastal eastern
Australia are expected in order to display southward variety growth and upslope reduction
because of increasing high temperature and changing styles of rain. Affected climate driven
southward growth of the possible habitat varieties was anticipated laterally the coastal eastern
Australia for Tribunia Robusta (Hughes, 2011). Appropriate habitat zones in north
Queensland are expected to be the major and poorest affected, with habitat varieties viewing
large southward and upslope fall, which might effect on survivorship, susceptibility to illness,
and procreative accomplishment of current inhabitants of its congeneric types, agreed their
partial dispersal capability to trail appropriate habitat. Thus, the outcomes indicated a likely
appearance of novel climatically right habitat parts in central New South Wales, which may
develop feasible translocation locations in the upcoming, if substrate circumstances are too
established to be appropriate (Corlett, 2011).

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Figure: The two nested reading areas are presented: (1) eastern Australia (the radical
jurisdictions of Queensland and Different South Wales), and (2) southeast Queensland,
usually showed by a box.
However, it not only affect the contemporary changes, but fauna is also highly affected
due to the climate changes in the Australia. According to the research which was published in
PLOS ONE, it was found that about half of 200 species of Australia are highly threatened due
to the changes that are found in climate. Changes in the climate is one of the crucial
contributors that has contributed to global biodiversity losses and it also affects the plant and
animal in huge number of ways. Some of the species are affected directly by rise in sea level
or decline in snow melt. Apart from this, some species might lose a pollinator or victim

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species that they depend on. Fauna which cannot move away to more suitable habitats or
those who are not left with appropriate habitat, risk factor is highly becoming extinct in
nature. So, it is very necessary to understand the effects of changes in climate on fauna and
help them out to survive (Shoo, O’Mara, Perhans, 2014).
According to a recent study based on global climatic changes, it was found that
between 11-15% of amphibian species are highly threatened by the changes that are seen in
the climate. However, it totally depends on how much the entire world warms ( Williams, et
al., 2012). Yet, people are still unaware about how to assist those species because people do
not know the reasons behind the vulnerability of the species of the individuals. So, a
document is set to determine the number of threatened species that survive in Australia which
are likely to be effected by the changes in the climate. So, a balanced segment of species
which include mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and plants are analyzed thoroughly and
assessed by using a method which has been urbanized by Nature serve (Lesley, 2003).
It was found that more than 45% of all the threatened species are abstemiously to
highly vulnerable, which includes a huge varieties of flora and fauna. The Mountain Pygmy
Possum is the species which is most vulnerable to changes in the climate. It is threatened
because of the increment in the Snow Belt and later, habitat loss through the expansion of Ski
resorts. Largely, and more often not surprisingly, the most vulnerable species that reacts to
changes in the climate are amphibians. It is because they have tiny and segmented
distributions and they mostly depend heavily on a specific moisture regimes and biotic
habitants as well. The second most vulnerable species that is affected are plants. It takes place
because they have quite low dispersal capability which restrict them to move freely as that of
animals. And moreover, they totally depends on the majorly types of soil. Birds are the one
who are least vulnerable because of the climate change because they are good dispensers. In
addition to this, there are majorly three most persistent factors for all the considered
threatened species. The factors are low genetic variation, dependency on specific patterns of
disturbance and reliance on specific forms of rainfall or habitants ( Hagger, Fisher, Schmid,
Blomberg, 2013).
Critically, the major reasons behind the threatened species which are highly vulnerable
to changes in the climate varies evidently across the Australia. Alongside the south east

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coastline, the most important driving factors were more reliable on specific forms of
disturbance and low genetic variation. The other key factor which drives vulnerability of the
fauna lives in the upper Northern Territory. All the targeted regions are supposed to set a
ground of actions which will address all the necessary factors that causes changes in the
climate and create vulnerability of the species as well (Duarte, 2012).
There are some corrective action which can be taken to help those species. Once all the
drivers are wholly understood, the countermeasures can be easily taken. Actions taken must
be targeted in order to assist the species to the changes in the climate and they must be given
an opportunity to lead a best life in future (Clark, 2007). For an example, one can surge
moisture in an environment that will assist and support amphibians by fixing microhabitat
refugees or manipulating the levels of moisture at breeding sites directly by setting up
irrigation sprayers. Similarly, the south coast line of Australia can be aided by having some
majorly dedicated areas which are particularly managed and controlled in order to maintain
proper forms and patterns of fire. Other counter measures includes habitat restoration that will
reduce the growing fragmentation. So, in order to serve these species, novel and unique
strategies must be followed which will overcome the impending changes in the climate
(Boulter, 2012).
Thus, from the above study, it can be summarized that SDM is a most commonly used
tool in order to evaluate general leanings of changes in climate that effects on the present and
upcoming habitat circulation of Tribunia Robusta at continental as well as regional balances.
This tool also helps to recommend potential conservation priority locations for the extended
time perseverance of the species. In order to additional discriminate areas of Tribunia Robusta
for long time persistence, SDMs must be more refined with higher resolutions (Allen et al.,
2010).

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