Understanding the effects of climate change on primate ranging patterns is crucial for conservation planning. Rhinopithecus roxellana is an endangered primate species distributed in mountainous forests at the elevation of 1500-3500 m a.s.l. in China. Our study site, the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, represents the eastern-most distribution of this species. This area has experienced significant habitat loss and fragmentation because of human population growth, increased farming and logging, and climate change. To estimate how changes in temperature and rainfall will affect the presumed future distribution of this species, we examined eco-geographic factors including bioclimate, habitat (vegetation type, landcover, etc.), topography, and human impact (human population, gross domestic product, etc.), and provide suggestions for management and conservation. We used a maximum entropy approach to predict the location and distribution of habitats suitable for R. roxellana in the present, 2020, 2050, and 2080 based on 33 environmental parameters, three general circulation models, three emissions scenarios, and two dispersal hypotheses. According to the ensemble modeling, we found range reductions of almost 30% by 2020, 70% by 2050, and over 80% by 2080. Although no obvious differences were found in distribution change based on full and zero dispersal assumptions, our results revealed range reductions in response to elevational, latitudinal, and longitudinal gradients, with the monkeys forced to migrate to higher elevations over time. Bioclimte factors, such as temperature, precipitation, evapo-transpiration, and aridity condition, were dominant contributors to range shifting. As habitat loss due to human influence and climate change is likely to be even more severe in the future, we considered three conservation hot-spots in the Shennongjia area and recommended: (i) securing existing reserves and establishing new reserves, (ii) re-designing management systems to include the Shenongjia reserve and the surrounding reserves and highlighting ecosystem protection at higher elevations, and (iii) using finer-scale research to guide the conservation planning and education in order to enhance protection and awareness in the local community. National and provincial conservation policies should integrate projections of climate change in making effective conservation strategies.

Downwelling ocean currents carry carbon into the deep ocean (the solubility pump), and play a role in controlling the level of atmospheric carbon. The formation of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) also releases heat to the atmosphere, which is a contributor to a mild climate in Europe. One possible response to the increase in anthropogenic carbon in the atmosphere and to the possible weakening of the NADW is modification of downwelling ocean currents, by an increase in carbon concentration or volume. This study assesses the costs of seven possible methods of modifying downwelling currents, including using existing industrial techniques for exchange of heat between water and air. Increasing carbon concentration in downwelling currents is not practical due to the high degree of saturation of high latitude surface water. Two of the methods for increasing the volume of downwelling currents were found to be impractical, and four were too expensive to warrant further consideration. Formation of thicker sea ice by pumping ocean water onto the surface of ice sheets is the least expensive of the methods identified for enhancing downwelling ocean currents. Modifying downwelling ocean currents is highly unlikely to ever be a competitive method of sequestering carbon in the deep ocean, but may find future application for climate modification.

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