Gauging the Biological Impacts of the Greenhouse Effect

For years some climatologists have warned that greenhouse gases, by preventing excess solar energy from radiating back into space, could raise average global temperatures 3/degree/ to 5/degree/C within the next century, change rainfall patterns, melt some glaciers and polar ice, raise sea levels, flood low-lying coasts, and otherwise alter climate and environment. Only recently, however, have biologists begun to ask how the greenhouse effect might affect living organisms. How, for example, will individual species respond to changing climate. will they adapt to new conditions or migrate to new environs. Which species might benefit and which might go extinct. Will communities of plants and animals remain intact. What are the implications for wildlife managers and park planners. Such questions were addressed at a recent conference on biological consequences of the greenhouse effect.