Thomas et al (2004) report that global warming projected by current models out to 2050 could substantially increase the probability of extinction of many species in terrestrial regions from Mexico to Australia. Of the 1,103 species studied, the authors report that about one fourth of these may disappear. Pounds and Puschendorf (2004) provide a summary and comment on this paper and point out that the estimates of Thomas et al (2004) may even be low because the risk of extinction increases as global warming interacts with other factors such as landuse change, species invasion, and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide to disrupt ecological balances and interactions.
References
Pounds, J.A., and R. Puschendorf, 2004: Clouded futures. Nature, 427, 107-109.
Thomas, C.D., and Co-authors, 2004: Extinction risk from climate change. Nature, 427, 145-148.