Book Review: Climate Change Biology by Lee Hannah

The third edition of Climate Change Biology is an undergraduate textbook written by Lee Hannah, who also authored the preceding two editions. It is non-repetitive, theoretically rigorous, and does not break the rules, so it could be appreciated by academics from other fields as well as those interested in pursuing a career in climate science. Climate Change Biology will appeal to anybody with a scientific bent who is interested in the fundamental questions of climate change, provided they have a basic understanding of biology. Climate Change Biology is primarily concerned with the principles of climate science, with an emphasis on biology. Many other core aspects of physiology, populations, ecology, biogeography, and Earth systems research are covered, with an emphasis on the ecological impact of climate change on diverse species.

Excellent graphics and graphs (consistently labelled and coloured all through the book), an appealing assortment of pictures, and clear and intelligible explanations describe the book. It has the typical textbook apparatus (an opening summary, explanations of new terminologies in each chapter, a glossary, references, and annotated further reading recommendations for those who want to learn more), but the most notable pedagogical feature is the set of Research Spotlight that accompany each chapter.

The opening section introduces a new discipline: Climate Change Biology, biological interactions, chemistry of change, the climate system and climate models, but primarily seeks to lay a foundation for climate change understanding that is needed to explore biological responses, touching on the impact of current climatic changes on species. Introduction to climate models in the book not only attempts a systematic introduction to climate modelling, but also delves into the fundamental dynamics of the atmospheric and oceanic circulations, along with approaches to their ecological applications, mathematical formulation, and numerical treatment.

The second section on Biological Foundations of Climate Change Response is focused towards understanding biochemical, cellular, ecological, and biogeographic definitions and implications of climate change as well as the earth system. Along with that their brief overview of the impacts on their niche, evolution and carbon cycles with thought-provoking examples.

Section three looks at the possible Impacts of Climate Change on nature focusing on impacts of global change on species-their range shift, extinctions, and invasions, change in ecosystem services, in phenology of varied species in marine and forest ecosystems including noteworthy examples. The author also gives exceptionally clear explanations of phenomena such as coral bleaching, range shifts in Artic and Antarctica, extinctions, changing seasons, cloud forests, ocean acidification, and change in food webs as well as throwing in a look at predictability and interactions with the broader earth system.

Paleoclimatology, or the history of climate science, past responses, ecosystem changes, and significant extinction events and their causes in terrestrial, marine, and freshwater habitats are all covered in Section 4: Lessons from the Past. It elaborately presents the changes over the past million years from tropical to polar in cryosphere, ocean circulation and chemistry, species biological records.

Following, the book goes forward, section five, Looking to the Future, the author touches insights of important laboratory and field experimentations in estimating the biological effects of climate change on organisms and ecosystems. The author dedicates a chapter on Modelling Species and Ecosystem Response elaborating climate models, chapter fourteen covers modelling aquatic and earth systems, several types of models, Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs), Species Distribution Models (SDMs) and GAP models. It includes predictions in terms of global variations in species distribution, rainfall and temperature, and their spatial patterns, as well as changes in ice cover, sea level, seawater chemistry, and the risk of severe occurrences, based on a variety of models and emission scenarios. The application of climate models to estimate the magnitude of climate change: on extinction, endemism, and species distribution around the world is covered in one chapter of this section. The last chapter describes all the valuable Ecological Services that are threatened by climate change, including provisioning, supporting, regulating, and cultural services.

The sixth section ‘Implications for Conservation’ is an excellent overview of the topic, suitable for students but potentially also policy-makers and researchers seeking a broader perspective for Adaptation of Conservation Strategies by protection, planning, persistence, resistance and resilience for migratory and threatened species in all kinds of habitats in the first chapter of this section. Chapter eighteen discuss about Connectivity and Landscape Management that provide avenues for species range shifts and species dispersal to track climate, promote gene flow and serve other purposes in adaptation to climate change. The final chapter of this section tackles with Species Management threatened by climate change through removing stressors, in situ and ex situ management (rescuing species) and assisted migration.

Finding Solutions: International Policy and Action is the concluding section. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the substructure of international climate policy, with the ultimate objective of ending greenhouse gas emissions, as well as environmental conservation, food security, sustainability, and poverty reduction. Major climate policies, summits, and initiatives are highlighted, as well as the need of mitigation efforts to stabilise GHG concentrations and adaptation as a significant component of climate change. The many types of renewable energy sources and the required capital are briefly discussed.

The part Finding solutions, addresses perplexing concerns such as "why have international climate discussions taken so long and yielded so little?" "Can clean coal be achieved?" "What are the predicted changes over the next 50 years, and what are the potential consequences?" and "What can be done?" The author also gives information and geoengineering technologies deployed in carbon sequestration, capture and storage. The final chapter of the book is dedicated to Assessing Risks and Designing Solutions in a biological standpoint.

It emphasises the necessity of collaboration between research and government, since paleoecologists, climatologists, taxonomic specialists, ecologists, and conservationists will be often involved in adaptation or biological impact assessments, with the purpose of influencing conservation policy. Following that, policymakers and stakeholders will collaborate to establish and execute sound policies. This is a well-written and balanced perspective that acknowledges the unique characteristics of both climate and government policies while enabling neither to be dissociated from their links to and reliance on the other, as well as the rest of the humanity.