Global Climate Change and Terrestrial Invertebrates

The title of this book should more accurately be 'Global Climate and Atmospheric Change and Terrestrial Invertebrates' because many of the contributors consider the effects of changes in greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, on invertebrates. Our students, past and present, will be bemused because for many years we've laboured the point that carbon dioxide is an atmospheric chemical and not a climatic variable. We decided to use the term climate change as a 'catch all' to include atmospheric change, not just because the title is snappier, but in most peoples' minds, climate change includes components such as greenhouse gases. Public engagement with global climate change research has increased dramatically in the last few decades, helped in part by using accessible language without getting stuck on strict definitions, so we think this is a small compromise to make.