Ectotherms exhibit greater climate vulnerability than endotherms across terrestrial vertebrates

Code and data for Ectotherms exhibit greater climate vulnerability than endotherms across terrestrial vertebrates Abstract: Climate change is a leading driver of biodiversity loss, resulting in range shifts, population declines, and species extinctions. However, the impacts of climate change are not distributed evenly across the tree of life, prompting a need to better understand the distribution and mechanisms shaping climate vulnerability. Here we estimate climate risk across terrestrial vertebrates by applying quantitative, trait-based vulnerability indices. Through this large-scale comparison, we provide evidence that ectotherms are more vulnerable to climate change than endotherms, vulnerability is driven by multiple, independent traits, and species found in warm, arid regions exhibit the greatest climate risk. Analyzing vulnerability across diverse taxa and at a global scale can highlight specific taxa and regions that are the greatest risk of biodiversity loss, facilitating the development of conservation actions for at-risk species.