Symposium on the Impact of Global Warming on Biological Diversity; Washington, D.C.; October 4-6, 1988

这次会议很及时。一组专家将仔细研究预测的气候变化对生物多样性的影响。科学界一致认为，由于“温室效应”，地球正在变暖。虽然人们在预测未来气候变化方面付出了相当大的努力，但对评估对野生动植物的潜在影响却很少关注。然而，最初的研究已经得出结论，生物效应可能是深远的，包括物种范围的巨大变化，生物群落的破坏和物种的灭绝。对这一问题的保护对策需要对野生物种将如何对气候变暖做出反应，以及这些反应将如何与人类的持续入侵相互作用有一个坚定的科学理解。世界野生动物基金会将召开第一次大型研讨会，评估对生物多样性的影响。会议将提供对当前认识的科学概述，促进讨论和研究，并教育科学界和政策界。气候学家将提出一系列气候情景，生命科学家将在此基础上发表论文，讨论可能的生理和生态反应。论文将在全体会议上提交，并将由学术出版社出版。

This conference is timely. A group of experts will take a careful look at the effects of predicted climate change on diversity of organisms. There is scientific concensus that the Earth is warming because of the "greenhouse effect." While considerable effort has gone into projecting future climate change, relatively little attention has been devoted to assessing potential effects on wild plants and animals. Yet, initial studies have concluded that biological effects could be profound, including large shifts in species ranges, disruption of biological communities, and extinction of species. Conservation responses to this problem will need a firm scientific understanding of how wild species will respond to the warming and how these responses will interplay with continuing human encroachment. The World Wildlife Fund will convene the first major symposium to assess affects upon biodiversity. The conference will provide a scientific overview of current understanding, catalyze discussion and research, and educate both the scientific and policy communities. Climatologists will present a range of climatic scenarios upon which life scientists will base papers discussing possible physiological and ecological responses. The papers will be presented in plenary session and will be published by an academic press.