Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity

..............................................................................................................ii Résumé ................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................vi List of Tables..................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures.................................................................................................... xiv List of Appendices............................................................................................... xix Chapter 1: General Introduction.................................................................................. 1 REFERENCES................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: Habitat loss, climate change, and emerging conservation challenges in Canada............13 ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................13 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................14 Causes and consequences of habitat loss in Canada....................................................15 Conservation impacts of contaminants.................................................................18 Climate change.............................................................................................21 Synergisms..................................................................................................30 Listing species at risk......................................................................................30 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................32 TABLES...........................................................................................................34 FIGURES..........................................................................................................38 REFERENCES..................................................................................................44 Chapter 3: A conceptual framework for the emerging discipline of conservation physiology....57 ABSTRACT....................................................................................................57 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................58 Conservation physiology framework....................................................................61 Applying the framework..................................................................................62 (i) Physiological links between species fitness and environmental changes...............63 (ii) Specificity of species–environmental links.................................................. 64 (iii) Physiology as a method of promoting effective application of conservation.............66 (iv) Informing decision-making through conservation physiology............................67 Challenges...................................................................................................69 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................70 TABLES..........................................................................................................72 FIGURES.........................................................................................................73 REFERENCES...................................................................................................80