Chapter 4 Article - William Franke

William Franke
Robbins, J. (2015, July 13). Resilience: A New Conservation Strategy for a Warming World. Retrieved January 29, 2018, from http://e360.yale.edu/features/resilience_a_new_conservation_strategy_for_a_warming_world

1. I was already aware of the fact that climate change has been causing a decrease in biodiversity as well as the relocation of some species.
2. From this article I learned that abiotic factors can be a good measure of of biodiversity. Historically, scientists have looked at biotic factors the biodiversity of an ecosystem. However, these biotic factors carry with them a large degree of uncertainty and make it difficult accurately predict biodiversity in a certain. A new method has revealed that abiotic factors such as geology, elevation, and landscape provide a much much accurate read of biodiversity within a specific area. By preserving areas with high biodiversity as indicated by abiotic factors, these areas are most resilient and have the best chance of surviving the adverse effects of climate change.
3. This relates to class content because it covers the topic of resilience. Resilience is important because in a world where the climate is changing, only the most resilient ecosystems and communities will be able to adapt. There are many ways to measure resilience as this article points out, although some are more effective than others.
4. One of the main critiques of the article is that even though abiotic factors are a good way to measure biodiversity, they neglect to account for important biotic considerations. Some conservation groups are buying land and creating wildlife reserves in specific areas based on the biodiversity indicated by abiotic factors. These groups of people hope the reserves they set up will be most resilient against the future effects of climate change. While this plan will help preserve biodiversity of these areas in the future, it neglects to address the need for protection of species who are currently endangered.