The impact of global change on terrestrial Vertebrates

Examples of the impact of human activities on Vertebrate populations abound, with famous cases of extinction. This article reviews how and why Vertebrates are affected by the various components of global change. The effect of direct exploitation, while strong, is currently superseded by changes in use of all sorts, while climate change has started having significant effects on some Vertebrate populations. The low maximum growth rate of Vertebrate populations makes them particularly sensitive to global change, while they contribute relatively modestly to major ecosystem services. One may conclude that unless they are considered as sentinels of the biological consequences of global changes, their situation will go on strongly deteriorating, in particular under the influence of interactions of different components of global change such as changes in use and climate change. (C) 2011 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.