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Global Warming Threatens Warm Climate Species

Posted on: Friday, 10 October 2008, 08:05 CDT

Tropical plants and animals may face greater threats due to global warming than polar regions according to researchers studying conditions in Costa Rica.

"Many lowland tropical species could be in trouble," said the team of researchers, led by Robert K. Colwell of the University of Connecticut.

"The tropics, in the popular view, are already hot, so how could global warming harm tropical species? We hope to put this concern on the conservation agenda," Colwell said.

According to Colwell, species in the region are living near their maximum temperatures.  A warmer climate could lead to their decline.

"We chose the word 'attrition' to emphasize slow deterioration," he said. "How soon that will be evident enough for a consensus is difficult to say." Researchers estimate that an increase of 5.8 degrees Fahrenheit over 100 years would subject 53 percent of lowland tropical species to attrition.

The rising temperatures would make migration to cooler climates a necessity.

"The most likely escape route in the tropics is to follow temperature zone shifts upward in elevation on tropical mountainsides," Colwell said.

According to researchers, temperature declines nearly 9.4 degrees Fahrenheit for every 3,280 feet in elevation uphill.  A similar temperature reduction from moving north or south would mean a species traveling nearly 620 miles.

Species living on mountaintops will be left with no where to go.

According to Jens-Christian Svenning of the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and Richard Condit of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Center, the study provides an illustration of the potential risk to tropical species.

The numbers are likely to be controversial because of the knowledge gap in knowing species' sensitivity to climate change, added Condit and Svenning.

A separate report in the journal Science showed that a warming climate has affected the ranges of small mammals in Yosemite National Park.

According to Craig Moritz of the University of California, ranges for some animals in high-elevation regions have shrunk, while low elevation mammals have expanded their reach.

Earlier this year, Jonathan Lenoir and his team of researchers, studied 171 forest species in Western Europe and showed that many are shifting to higher elevations.  It was the first time that research showed the “fingerprints of climate change” in the distribution of plants by altitude.

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On the Net:

• University of Connecticut
• Science

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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