UNIT I: SETTING THE STAGE

Chapter 1. Approaches in Global Change Biology
How Did the Field of Global Change Biology Develop?
How Are Global Change Biology Studies Designed?
What Key Research Approaches Are Used in Global Change Biology?
What Key Tools Are Used in Global Change Biology?
Core Concepts: How are Data Displayed?
Meet the Data: The Economic Value of Nature
Taking a Closer Look: The Value of Biological Diversity

Chapter 2. Brief History of Life on Earth
What Key Transitions Led to the Emergence of Life on Earth?
How Did Cellular Life Evolve and Diversify?
What Evolutionary Processes Shape Biological Diversity?
When Have Speciation and Extinction Rates Been Particularly High?
Core Concepts: What is a Phylogenetic Tree?
Meet the Data: The Ring of Life
Taking a Closer Look: Biological Levels of Change

Chapter 3. Rise of the Humans
When and How Did Early Hominids Evolve?
When and How Did Modern Humans Spread Around the World?
How Did Early Human Civilizations Impact the Environment?
Core Concepts: What Is In a Name?
Meet the Data: Ice Age Genetics
Taking a Closer Look: The Evolutionary Success of Humans

Chapter 4. The Anthropocene
What Is the Anthropocene and When Did It Begin?
What Are Patterns of Contemporary Population Growth?
How Are Contemporary Human Civilizations Impacting the Environment?
How Do Anthropogenic Stressors Interact with Each Other?
What Influences Overall Vulnerability to Global Change Pressures?
Core Concepts: What is Climate and How Is It Measured?
Meet the Data: Pollinators and Pesticides
Taking a Closer Look: Historical and Contemporary Climate Change

UNIT II: CORE RESPONSES TO GLOBAL CHANGE STRESSORS

Chapter 5. Core Responses: Move
How and Why Do Organisms Move?
What Is a Geographic Range?
What Factors Determine a Species' Geographic Range?
Do Range Changes Occur Even Without Anthropogenic Influence?
What Types of Range Changes Occur in Response to Anthropogenic Pressures?
How Do Scientists Predict Range Changes?
Core Concepts: What Is a Niche?
Meet the Data: A Century of Change in Yosemite
Taking a Closer Look: Globalization and Invasive Species

Chapter 6. Core Responses: Adjust
What Is Phenotypic Plasticity?
Is the Capacity for Plasticity Consistent Across Traits and Species?
What Types of Plasticity Occur in Response to Global Change
What Mechanisms Underlie Phenotypic Plasticity?
How Do Scientists Assess and Predict Phenotypic Plasticity?
Can Plasticity Facilitate Long-Term Persistence?
Core Concepts: What Are the Mechanisms of Heredity?
Meet the Data: Phenology and Global Warming
Taking a Closer Look: Urbanization

Chapter 7. Core Responses: Adapt
What Conditions Are Required for Adaptation?
What Is an Example of Evolution by Natural Selection?
What Types of Adaptation Occur in Response to Global Change Pressures?
How Do Scientists Identify Adaptations and Predict Adaptive Potential?
Can Adaptation Prevent Extinction?
Core Concepts: Where Does Genetic Variation Come From?
Meet the Data: The Daphnia Time Machine
Taking a Closer Look: Coral Reefs

Chapter 8. Core Responses: Die
How Is the Survival of Individuals, Populations, and Species Connected?
What Are Examples of Extinction in Response to Global Change Pressures?
How Do Scientists Estimate Extinction Risk?
How Do Scientists Summarize Global Patterns of Extinction Risk?
What Is the Sixth Mass Extinction?
Core Concepts: What is Extinction Debt?
Meet the Data: The Sixth Mass Extinction
Taking a Closer Look: Amphibian Declines

UNIT III: COMPLEX RESPONSES TO GLOBAL CHANGE PRESSURES

Chapter 9. Community-Level Responses
What Are Key Types of Biological Interactions?
How Do Global Change Pressures Affect Biological Interactions?
How Does Extinction Affect Communities?
What Are Cascading Effects?
Core Concepts: What Are Above- and Below-Ground Food Webs?
Meet the Data: The Collapse of Mutualisms
Taking a Closer Look: Kelp Forests and Trophic Cascades

Chapter 10. Ecosystem-Level Responses
What Are Biogeochemical Cycles?
How Do Global Change Pressures Impact Ecosystems?
How Do Global Change Pressures Impact Large-Scale Earth Systems?
What Is a Feedback?
What Is Ecosystem Collapse?
What Is Ecosystem Resilience?
Core Concepts: What is a Biodiversity Hotspot?
Meet the Data: Greenhouse Gases in the Soil
Taking a Closer Look: Factors Influencing Response to Global Change

UNIT IV: NEW HORIZONS

Chapter 11. Conservation in an Era of Global Change
Why Is It Important to Explicitly Define Conservation Priorities?
Why Is It Important to Match Conservation Actions to Particular Biological Levels?
What Are Examples of Fine-Filter Conservation Strategies?
What Are Examples of Coarse-Filter Conservation Strategies?
What Is Adaptive Management?
Core Concepts: What is Climate Mitigation?
Meet the Data: Maximizing Evolutionary Diversity
Taking a Closer Look: Emerging Technologies and Conservation Ethics

Chapter 12. Aligning the Interests of Biodiversity and Human Society
What Are Coupled Human-Natural Systems?
What Societal Levers Can Be Used to Support Biodiversity Conservation?
How Can Individuals Support Biodiversity Conservation?
How Can Collectives Support Biodiversity Conservation?
How Can Policy Action Support Biodiversity Conservation?
What Is the Forecast for the Future?
Core Concepts: What is I=PAT?
Meet the Data: Financial Incentives for Dynamic Conservation
Taking a Closer Look: Environmental Worldviews