Climate change impacts on the threatened terrestrial vertebrates of the Pacific Islands

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this study was to undertake a broad-scale understanding of the distribution of vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered terrestrial vertebrate species in the Pacific and the assessment of impacts of climate change and sea level rise. 150 critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable terrestrial vertebrates found in 23 countries of the Pacific were linked to island susceptibility to climate change. Out of the 1779 islands making up the 23 countries, 674 of them hosted at least one species from the above categories. 84 of the 150 species are endemic to this study area and many of these occur on islands with high susceptibility to climate change, with many of them occurring on one island only. The species data, together with islands, was overlain with Mean Significant Wave Height (Hs) projections for 2081–2100 under RCP4.5 and 8.5, and further analysed for threat of extinction. A large number of critically endangered and endangered species fall in regions that have the highest Hs projections.