The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) is a global network of experts working on the conservation of endangered species. The more than 130 ‘specialist groups’ within the SSC mostly focus on particular taxa, such as bats or palms, but some look at broader issues, such as invasive species or reintroductions.

 The Climate Change Specialist Group, which includes XTBG Professor Richard Corlett, is a new member of the SSC and focuses on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. The first output from this group is a review of methods of assessing the vulnerability of species to climate change, just published in Nature Climate Change. Identifying which species will be most vulnerable is important for conservation planning, but different approaches to this issue can produce very different results. This review describes the main methods that have been used and identifies their strengths and weaknesses, before making recommendations for conservation practitioners and highlighting issues that tend to be overlooked.

Pacifici, M, Foden, W.B., Visconti, P., Watson, J.E.M., Butchart, S.H.M., Kovacs, K.M., Scheffers, B.R., Hole, D.G., Martin, T.G., Akçakaya, H.R., Corlett, R.T., Huntley, B., Bickford, D., Carr, J.A., Hoffmann, A.A., Midgley, G.F., Pearce-Kelly, P., Pearson, R.G., Williams, S.E., Willis, S.G., Young, B., & Rondinini, C. 2015. Assessing species vulnerability to climate change.  Nature Climate Change 5: 215-225. http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v5/n3/full/nclimate2448.html