Climate change

Assessing the Effects of Citizen Climate Literacy and Attitudes on Their ‘Greening’Behaviour in a Climate Change Hotspot Region of the Eastern Mediterranean

Climate change presents an urgent global challenge, manifesting in rising temperatures and extreme weather events with severe societal impacts. The Eastern Mediterranean, warming faster than the global average, faces immediate repercussions. Climate literacy emerges as pivotal, empowering individuals to comprehend climate science and act accordingly. This study delves into climate literacy, attitudes, and ‘greening’ behaviours…

Effects of Marine Threats on Mediterranean Marine Top Predators

This chapter explores the growing threats faced by top predators in the Mediterranean Sea. Climate change, overfishing, and plastic pollution may affect their migration patterns and lead them to abandon established reproduction areas. For instance, tuna might not find its spawning grounds due to warmer water, sea turtles might fight against plastic debris to lay…

Functional responses of Mediterranean flora to fire: A community‐scale perspective

Fire regime is predicted to change, particularly in Mediterranean climate regions, towards more severe and frequent fire events. From a predictive perspective, trait-based ecology offers a comprehensive framework to characterize vegetation responses to fire. Since fires induce erosion and decrease soil nutrients, species’ functional traits and their distribution at community level should reflect these changes….

Lessepsian migration in the Mediterranean Sea in an era of climate change: Plague or boon?

The eastern Mediterranean Sea has suffered severe impacts from climate change, causing the decline of native biodiversity. Based on a global systematic review, we found that climate change has been the main driver of local extinctions globally since the 1990s; the eastern Mediterranean is flagged as an extinction hotspot. This region is also a bioinvasions…

Identification of climate change hotspots in the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean region has long been identified as a climate change hotspot. However, within the Mediterranean, there are smaller sub-areas that exhibit a higher risk of climate change and extremes. Previous research has often focused on indices based on mean climate values, yet extremes are typically more impactful on humans and ecosystems. This study aims…

Effective management of urban water resources under various climate scenarios in semiarid Mediterranean areas

Climate change has a significant impact on water resources, making it essential to re-evaluate water management strategies and incorporate climate scenarios in assessments. The Municipal Department of Aigeiros is located in the northern part of Greece. Water consumption is high in Aigeiros and the increased future temperatures projected during the summer period will create significant…

New warnings of a ‘Butterfly Effect’ — in reverse

New warnings of a ‘Butterfly Effect’ — in reverse

A Yale-led study warns that global climate change may have a devastating effect on butterflies, turning their species-rich, mountain habitats from refuges into traps. Think of it as the “butterfly effect” — the idea that something as small as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings can eventually lead to a major event such as a hurricane…

State of the Global Climate 2024

State of the Global Climate 2024

The clear signs of human-induced climate change reached new heights in 2024, which was likely the first calendar year to be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era, with a global mean near-surface temperature of 1.55 ± 0.13 °C above the 1850-1900 average. This is the warmest year in the 175-year observational record. The State…

What we can learn from how flies set the thermostat

What we can learn from how flies set the thermostat

Tiny, cold-blooded animals like flies depend on their environment to regulate body temperature, making them ideal “canaries in the mine” for gauging the impact of climate change on the behavior and distribution of animal species. Yet, scientists know relatively little about how insects sense and respond to temperature. Using two species of flies from different…

How rising temperatures could lead to population crashes

How rising temperatures could lead to population crashes

Researchers at Rice University have uncovered a critical link between rising temperatures and declines in a species’ population, shedding new light on how global warming threatens natural ecosystems. The study, published in Ecology and led by Volker Rudolf, revealed that rising temperatures exacerbate competition within populations, ultimately leading to population crashes at higher temperatures. It…