title: interview   new world next week with james evan pilato
text: in climate change  by nadia prupis  november   the researchers say  percent of core ecological processes on land and sea have been affected by climate change in a way that has not been expected for decades photo lwp kommunikációflickrcc 
  climate change is already affecting life on earth despite a global temperature increase of just c according to a new study published in the journal science on friday 
  nearly every ecosystem on the planet is being altered and plants and animals are being so affected that scientists may soon be forced to intervene to create humanassisted evolution the study titled the broad footprint of climate change from genes to biomes to people  found 
  the researchers say  percent of core ecological processes on land and sea have been affected by climate change in a way that had not been expected for decades 
  coauthor and professor john pandolfi of the university of queensland said  temperature extremes are causing evolutionary adaption in many species changing them genetically and physically these responses include changes in tolerances to high temperatures shifts in sexratios reduced body size and migration of species 
  understanding the extent to which these goods and services have been impacted allows humans to plan and adapt to changing ecosystem conditions he said 
  dr james watson associate professor of planning and environmental management at uqs school of geography added we are simply astonished at the level of change we observed which many of us in the scientific community did not expect to see for decades 
  the changes have manifested in some species shifting to higher or lower ground as the planet heats up while others are becoming smaller as a higher surfaceareatobodymass ratio makes it easier to stay cool the independent reported  the outlet wrote 
  for example six species of woodland salamander in the appalachian mountains have undergone an average eight per cent reduction in body size over the past  years 
  slightly smaller lizards might not sound like something to overly concern humans but there is evidence this response is also affecting important sources of food 
  these multilevel biological impacts of climate change will affect humans increasing disease outbreaks inconsistent crop yields and reduced fisheries productivity all threaten our food security said coauthor dr tom bridge 
  average global temperatures have risen c since the industrial era the study states that this has already had broad and worrying impacts on natural systems with accumulating consequences for people minimizing the impacts of climate change on core ecological processes must now be a key policy priority for all nations 
  the study called on governments to follow through on the promises made in the paris climate agreement  which aims to keep global warming below a c thresholdalthough an increasing amount of scientists are sounding the alarm that even those pledges may be too little too late 
  time is running out for a globally synchronized response to climate change that integrates adequate protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services the study continued 
  it is no longer sensible to consider this as a concern for the futureif we dont act quickly to curb emissions it is likely that every ecosystem across earth will fundamentally change in our lifetimes said dr watson this work is licensed under a creative commons attributionshare alike  license share this