Temperature impacts the behaviour, physiology and ecology of all organisms more than any other abiotic variable. In this book, the author draws on theory from the more general discipline of evolutionary ecology to foster a fresh approach toward a theory of thermal adaptation.

Genetic resources for food and agriculture play a crucial role in food security, nutrition and livelihoods and in the provision of environmental services. They are key components of sustainability, resilience and adaptability in production systems. They underpin the ability of crops, livestock, aquatic organisms and forest trees to withstand a range of harsh conditions. Climate change poses new challenges to the management of the world's genetic resources for food and agriculture, but it also underlines their importance. At the request of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, FAO prepared thematic studies on the interactions between climate change and plant, animal, forest, aquatic, invertebrate and micro-organism genetic resources. This publication summarizes the results of these studies.

No species occurs everywhere. Indeed, the majority are absent from most places, and where they do occur they are usually quite rare. Gaston discusses the structure of these distributions - the structure of the geographic ranges of species. Gaston is particularly concerned with the factors that determine the limits to a species' geographic range, how the sizes of those ranges vary, and patterns in that variation. Also considered are the distribution of individuals amongst those sites where a species does occur and what determines that distribution, and some of the practical implications of all these. Both in a pure and applied context, ecologists need a broader perspective on their subject matter than has historically prevailed. This book provides one such perspective. A must have book for any researchers and graduate students studying macroecology, biogeography and conservation biology.

This volume addresses in detail both livestock’s role in climate change and the impacts of climate change on livestock production and reproduction. Apart from these cardinal principles of climate change and livestock production, this volume also examines the various strategies used to mitigate livestock-related GHG emissions, and those which can reduce the impacts of climate change on livestock production and reproduction. Presenting information and case studies collected and analyzed by professionals working in diversified ecological zones, the book explores the influence of climate change on livestock production across the globe. The most significant feature of this book is that it addresses in detail the different adaptation strategies and identifies targets for different stakeholders in connection with climate change and livestock production. Further, it puts forward development plans that will allow the livestock industries to cope with current climate changes and strategies that will mitigate the effects by 2025. Lastly, it provides researchers and policymakers several researchable priorities to help develop economically viable solutions for livestock production with less GHG emissions, promoting a cleaner environment in which human beings and livestock can live in harmony without adverse effects on productivity. Given that livestock production systems are sensitive to climate change and at the same are themselves a contributor to the phenomenon, climate change has the potential to pose an increasingly formidable challenge to the development of the livestock sector. However, there is a dearth of scientific information on adapting livestock production to the changing climate; as such, well-founded reference material on sustaining livestock production systems under the changing climate scenarios in different agro-ecological zones of the world is essential. By methodically and extensively addressing all aspects of climate change and livestock production, this volume offers a valuable tool for understanding the hidden intricacies of climatic stress and its influence on livestock production.

Plant Perspectives to Global Climate Changes: Developing Climate-Resilient Plants reviews and integrates currently available information on the impact of the environment on functional and adaptive features of plants from the molecular, biochemical and physiological perspectives to the whole plant level. The book also provides a direction towards implementation of programs and practices that will enable sustainable production of crops resilient to climatic alterations. This book will be beneficial to academics and researchers working on stress physiology, stress proteins, genomics, proteomics, genetic engineering, and other fields of plant physiology. Advancing ecophysiological understanding and approaches to enhance plant responses to new environmental conditions is critical to developing meaningful high-throughput phenotyping tools and maintaining humankind's supply of goods and services as global climate change intensifies. - Illustrates the central role for plant ecophysiology in applying basic research to address current and future challenges for humans - Brings together global leaders working in the area of plant-environment interactions and shares research findings - Presents current scenarios and future plans of action for the management of stresses through various approaches

Given the importance of livestock to the global economy, there is a substantial need for world-class reference material on the sustainable management of livestock in diverse eco-regions. With uncertain climates involving unpredictable extreme events (e.g., heat, drought, infectious disease), environmental stresses are becoming the most crucial factors affecting livestock productivity. By systematically and comprehensively addressing all aspects of environmental stresses and livestock productivity, this volume is a useful tool for understanding the various intricacies of stress physiology. With information and case studies collected and analyzed by professionals working in diversified ecological zones, this book explores the influence of the environment on livestock production across global biomes. The challenges the livestock industry faces in maintaining the delicate balance between animal welfare and production are also highlighted.