The sensitivity of Australian birds to climate change

The sensitivity of a species or subspecies is generated by those intrinsic traits that modify the (potential) impact of exposure to climate change (sensu Williams et al. 2008). Thus (in theory), two species might be identically exposed to climate change, but one may be a generalist whose flexible use of habitat enables it to persist in changed circumstances, whereas the other, a specialist, may not. Similarly, two hypothetical species that are identically exposed and equally specialised may differ in their response to climate change because one species is able to disperse to alternative suitable areas but the other is not. In this chapter, we consider the need to appraise the sensitivity of individual taxa, what it means, and how it might be evaluated.