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Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change

Nature Reviews Microbiology · 2019 · Vol. 17(9) · pp. 569–586

Ricardo Cavicchioli✉(UNSW Sydney)William J. Ripple(Oregon State University)Kenneth N. Timmis(Technische Universität Braunschweig)Farooq Azam(Scripps Institution of Oceanography)Lars R. Bakken(Norwegian University of Life Sciences)Matthew Baylis(University of Liverpool)Michael J. Behrenfeld(Oregon State University)Antje Boëtius(Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung)Philip W. Boyd(University of Tasmania)Aimée T. Classen(University of Vermont)Thomas W. Crowther(ETH Zurich)Roberto Danovaro(Marche Polytechnic University)Christine M. Foreman(Montana State University)Jef Huisman(University of Amsterdam)David A. Hutchins(University of Southern California)Janet Jansson(Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)David M. Karl(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)Britt Koskella(University of California, Berkeley)David B. Mark Welch(Marine Biological Laboratory)Jennifer B. H. Martiny(University of California, Irvine)Mary Ann Moran(University of Georgia)Victoria J. Orphan(California Institute of Technology)David Reay(University of Edinburgh)Justin V. Remais(Berkeley Public Health Division)Virginia I. Rich(The Ohio State University)Brajesh K. Singh(Western Sydney University)Lisa Y. Stein(University of Alberta)Frank J. Stewart(Georgia Institute of Technology)Matthew B. Sullivan(The Ohio State University)Madeleine J. H. van Oppen(Australian Institute of Marine Science)Scott C. Weaver(The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston)Eric A. Webb(University of Southern California)Nicole S. Webster(Australian Institute of Marine Science)

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Abstract

In the Anthropocene, in which we now live, climate change is impacting most life on Earth. Microorganisms support the existence of all higher trophic life forms. To understand how humans and other life forms on Earth (including those we are yet to discover) can withstand anthropogenic climate change, it is vital to incorporate knowledge of the microbial 'unseen majority'. We must learn not just how microorganisms affect climate change (including production and consumption of greenhouse gases) but also how they will be affected by climate change and other human activities. This Consensus Statement documents the central role and global importance of microorganisms in climate change biology. It also puts humanity on notice that the impact of climate change will depend heavily on responses of microorganisms, which are essential for achieving an environmentally sustainable future.

Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics Climate Change Communication and PerceptionClimate changeAnthropoceneGlobal warmingEnvironmental ethicsEnvironmental resource managementEcologyEnvironmental planningNatural resource economicsEnvironmental scienceBiology