Predicting how arid-zone mammals will respond to the direct and indirect effects of climate change

Andrea Fuller

University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Climate change may affect mammals directly, for example through the effects of heat on physiological tolerance and performance, or indirectly, for example through changes in resource availability. Predicting how successfully mammals will cope requires not only knowledge of the changing habitat structure and macroclimate but also an understanding of the mammal’s sensitivity and exposure, its physiological plasticity, the role of trophic interactions and the microclimate variability within the macroclimate.