Climate Change & Biodiversity

As described in Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy, thousands of plants and animals and other organisms range from the sub-arctic ecosystems along the Hudson Bay coast to the Carolinian Life Zone in southwestern Ontario.

The protection of Ontario’s rich natural heritage is important to Ontarians. The Ministry of Natural Resources is sponsoring programs and research to ensure that Ontario’s plants and animals thrive and that the threats to biodiversity by climate change are understood, and if possible, managed.  Every species and ecosystem in the province could be affected.

The following report will provide more information about MNR’s efforts to understand and manage the impacts of climate change to biodiversity within Ontario’s terrestrial ecosystems.

The Known and Potential Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity in Ontario’s Terrestrial Ecosystems: Case Studies and Recommendations for Adaptation (2007)

More information can be found in the following reports and publications. Contact Applied Research and Development Branch for information on how to obtain these reports:

Biodiversity: Aquatic Ecosystems

• Casselman, J.M. 2002. Effects of Temperature, Global Extremes, and Climate Change on Year-Class Production of Warmwater, Coolwater, and Coldwater Fishes in the Great Lakes Basin. In: Fisheries in a Changing Climate. Nature A. McGinn, editor.  American Fisheries Society Symposium 32: 39-60.

• Casselman, J.M., D. M. Brown, J.A. Hoyle, and T.H. Eckert. 2002. Effects of Climate and Global Warming on Year-Class Strength and Relative Abundance of Smallmouth Bass in Eastern Lake Ontario. In: Black Bass:Ecology Conservation and Management. David P. Philipp and Mark S. Ridgeway, editors. American Fisheries Society Symposium 31: 73-90.

• Jackson, B. 2007. Potential Impact of Climate Change on Lake Trout in Atikokan Area. Climate Change Research Information Note Number 4, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada. 4pp.

• Jones, M.L., B.J. Shuter, Y. Zhao, and J.D. Stockwell. 2006. Forecasting Effects of Climate Change on Great Lakes Fisheries: Models that Link Habitat Supply to Population Dynamics Can Help. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 63: 457-468.

• Kling, G.W., K. Hayhoe, L.B. Johnson, J.J. Magnuson, S. Polasky, S.K. Robinson, B.J. Shuter, M.M. Wander, D.J. Wuebbles, and D.R. Zak. 2003. Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems. The Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Ecological Society of America, Washington, D.C., USA. 92pp.

• Magnuson, J.J., D.K. Hill, H.A. Regier, J.A. Holmes, J.D. Meisner, and B.J. Shuter. 1989. Potential Responses of Great Lakes Fishes and Their Habitat to Global Climate Warming. Pages 2-1 – 2-42 in: J.D. Smith and D.A. Tirpak, Editors. The Potential Effects of Global Climate Change on the United States. Appendix A, Water Resources. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA-230-05-89-051, Washington, D.C.

• Meisner, J.D., J.L. Goodier, H.A. Regier, B.J. Shuter, and W.J. Christie. 1987. An Assessment of the Effects of Climate Warming on Great Lakes Basin Fishes. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 13: 340-352.

• Shuter, B.J., and J.D. Meisner. 1992. Tools for Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Freshwater Fish Populations. GeoJournal, 28: 7-20.

• Shuter, B.J., C.K. Minns, and N. Lester. 2002. Climate Change, Freshwater Fish and Fisheries: Case Studies from Ontario and Their Use in Assessing Potential Impacts. Pages 77-88 in: N.A. McGinn, Editor. Fisheries in a Changing Climate. American Fisheries Society Symposium, 32, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Biodiversity: Terrestrial Ecosystems

• Colombo, S.J., M.L. Cherry, C. Graham, S. Greifenhagen, R.S. McAlpine, C.S. Papadopol, W.C. Parker, T. Scarr, and M.T. Ter-Mikaelian. 1998. The Impacts of Climate Change on Ontario's Forests. Forest Research Information Paper No. 143, Ontario Forestry Research Institute, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. 50 pp.

• Fleming, R.A. and J.-N. Candau. 1998. Influences of Climatic Change on Some Ecological Processes of an Insect Outbreak System in Canada's Boreal Forests and the Implications for Biodiversity. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 49: 235-249.

• Gray, P.A. 2005. The Impacts of Climate Change on Diversity in Forested Ecosystems: Some Examples. The Forestry Chronicle, 81(5): 655-661.

• Hussell, D.J.T. 2003. Climate Change, Spring Temperatures, and Timing of Breeding of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolour) in Southern Ontario. The Auk, 120(3): 607-618.

• Obbard, M.E., and Lyle R. Walton. 2004. The Importance of Polar Bear Provincial Park to the Southern Hudson Bay Polar Bear Population in the Context of Future Climate Change. Pages 105-116 in: C.K. Rehbein, J.G. Nelson, T.J. Beechey, and R.J. Payne. Editors. Proceedings of the Parks Research Forum of Ontario (PRFO) Annual General Meeting, 4-6 May 2004,  Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario. 325.