Qureshi and Ali J. Anim. Plant Sci. 21(2 Suppl.): 2011 358 CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY PAKISTAN’s SCENARIO N. A. Qureshi and Z. Ali* Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore *Department of Zoology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Corresponding e-mail: naureenaziz@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Climate is the major factor which controls the global pattern of vegetative structure, productivity and species composition of plant and animal. Its implications for ecosystems have appalling consequences related economic and social systems. Many plants can reproduce and grow within specific range of temperature and specific amounts of precipitation. Same is the case with the animals and are also dependent on the persistent of their food species. Therefore, climate change can affect the ecosystems and the biodiversity within them in many ways. The changes that have been observed in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the recent decades have been discussed include few examples of distribution of marine turtles, salt lake wetlands complex and the Indus River ecosystem. Although, biodiversity under threatened due to anthropogenic stresses along with the climate change but the apt management of biodiversity can reduce the blow of climate change. Keywords: Anthropogenic climate change, marine turtles, Uchalli Wetlands Complex, community structure, distribution, Indus River. INTRODUCTION The global climate has changed over the last century. The average surface temperature of the world has increased since 1900 by 0.6 ｱ 0.2ｰ C. Consequently, this has been followed by a retreat of glaciers and sea-ice, an increase in the number of heat waves, warming of the oceans, a sea-level rise (10–20 cm), a change in precipitations with increase in heavy rainfall and droughts in many regions and less incidence of frosts (IPCC, 2001). Empirical evidences reveal recent climate change is driven by the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are due human activities. Temperature is predicted to rise by up to 4 ｰC by 2100 that will alter precipitation patterns. Changes in the normal patterns of temperatures and humidity generally delimit species boundaries. Each 1ｰC of temperature change moves the ecological zones to approximately 160 km either in latitude or altitude. High temperatures will also influence the geographical and seasonal distribution of precipitation. However, the ability of species to respond to climate change will depend on the ability to adapt to the changing climate through colonizing new territory, or to modify their physiology and seasonal behaviours. The association between temperature and individual life has been well studied and most of the long term climate-related research focuses on possible shifts in distribution and abundance that are due to temperature changes. Therefore, recent work has revealed that both abiotic changes and biological responses in the ocean will be substantially more complex. For example, changes in ocean chemistry may be more important than changes in temperature for the performance and continued existence of many organisms. Ocean circulation, which drives larval transport, will also change, with important consequences for population dynamics. Furthermore, climatic impacts on one or a few influenced species may result in all-encompassing community-level changes. Finally, synergistic effects between climate and other anthropogenic variables, mainly fishing pressure, will likely make worse climate-induced changes. Carbon dioxide is one of the main source of greenhouse effect and therefore of increasing temperatures. Increased CO 2 in atmosphere may results in an increase in rate of photosynthesis that can balance the effect of temperature increase. Similarly an increase of anthropogenic atmospheric nitrogen deposition provides a better growth in plants. Climate change will affect all the ecosystems but in different ways. The vulnerable ecosystems include tropical and boreal forests, mountains, polar region, savannahs, marine ecosystems, wetlands and island ecosystems. For example, in marine ecosystems the possible consequences include increased thermal stratification, reduced upwelling of nutrients, decreased pH and loss of sea ice. These changes will influence the timing and extent of the spring bloom of phytoplankton and the associated food chain. Biodiversity: The definition of biodiversity as proposed in 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Rio de Janeiro says “the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, inter-alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological processes of which they are part. This includes diversity The Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 21(2 Suppl.): 2011, Page: 358-363 ISSN: 1018-7081