Endemic animals, that is, those whose distribution is limited to a small area, can suffer from global warming much more than other animals. Such conclusions were reached by scientists from the University of Rio de Janeiro, the University of Edinburgh, the German University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and a number of other universities. Today, April 9, they published an article about this in the scientific journal Biological Conservation.
If the temperature rises by 3 ° C – and this increase, if current trends continue, is predicted by 2100 – 34% of terrestrial endemics and 54% of marine species are threatened with extinction. For some regions, the risks are especially high – up to 84% of mountain endemic species and up to 100% of endemic species living on sea islands can become extinct. When the temperature rises by 1.5 ° C – such targets are set in accordance with the Paris Agreement on climate – 2% of endemic species are threatened with extinction.
The study authors studied 270 regions in different parts of the Earth. They note that endemics are particularly sensitive to climate change, as they are accustomed to very specific living conditions and are less adaptable than other species to changes.
According to their forecasts, the risk of extinction in endemic terrestrial animals under climate change is almost three times higher than that of ordinary autochthonous species, and ten times higher than that of introduced species. Species threatened with extinction when temperatures rise include lemurs in Madagascar, Stanley cranes in South Africa, snow leopards in the Himalayas, and Galapagos turtles.
On the problem of climate change – in the materials of “Kommersant”.
Read also:
