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Review | Sustainable Environmental Insight | Volume 3 - Issue 2 - 2026 | 152−169 | https://doi.org/10.53623/sein.v3i2.1071
© 2026 by the author(s), and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License

Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife: A Structured Review of Mechanisms, Recent Evidences, and Conservation Strategies

Author(s): Deon David ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7357-7850 , Pushpa Rani ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9012-4036 , Jofy Francis ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4456-4804
Author(s) information:
Department of Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology, Loyola College, Chennai 600034, India

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Sustainable Environmental Insight

Volume 3 - Issue 2 - 2026

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Climate change posed a significant threat to global biodiversity, affecting wildlife across terrestrial, marine, and polar ecosystems. This review aimed to synthesize the mechanisms through which climate change impacted wildlife and to evaluate recent empirical evidence (2020–2025). A structured literature search was conducted using major scientific databases, and studies were categorized based on climatic drivers and ecological responses. The synthesis indicated that rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, extreme weather events, and oceanic changes were driving shifts in species distributions, phenology, and population dynamics. Case studies revealed increasing risks of trophic mismatches, habitat loss, and species decline across diverse ecosystems. The review further evaluated conservation strategies, highlighting the roles of climate mitigation, habitat connectivity, and ecosystem-based adaptation. The inclusion of literature up to early 2025 ensured that the review reflected the most recent scientific findings and evolving climate impacts on wildlife. These findings underscored the need for integrated, evidence-based approaches to enhance wildlife resilience under accelerating climate change.

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SUBMITTED: 24 February 2026
ACCEPTED: 18 April 2026
PUBLISHED: 22 April 2026
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 54 days
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53623/sein.v3i2.1071

Cite this article
David, D. ., Rani, P. ., & Francis, J. . (2026). Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife: A Structured Review of Mechanisms, Recent Evidences, and Conservation Strategies. Sustainable Environmental Insight, 3(2), 152−169. https://doi.org/10.53623/sein.v3i2.1071
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