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Some animals won't adapt to climate change
November 14, 2006In a fascinating study appearing in the November issue of The American Naturalist, biologists investigated the response of small animals to climate change on a remote sub-Antarctic Island. From an evolutionary standpoint, acclimatizing to a change in circumstances seems to make evolutionary sense. However, Steven Chown and Jacques Deere (both of Stellenbosch University) found that terrestrial animals don't adapt. Why not?
"Acclimation only makes sense if tomorrow is likely to be similar to today," noted Chown, "and at Marion Island the sea is always cool, but from one day to the next it's never quite clear what the weather will bring on the land."
Animals have adapted this flexibility. Terrestrial animals facing highly unpredictable environments show no acclimation response at all, whereas the marine species reacted to life in a cold, predictable environment. This research found that unpredictability is a key to status in the face of change.
Marion Island is a great place to see the effects of global warming. On this island the average annual temperature has increased by more than 1° Celsius for the past fifty years. According to Jacques Deere, "This island and its animals provide a great research platform for assessing the taste of things to come."
University of Chicago Press Journals
Marion Island is a great place to see the effects of global warming. On this island the average annual temperature has increased by more than 1° Celsius for the past fifty years. According to Jacques Deere, "This island and its animals provide a great research platform for assessing the taste of things to come."
University of Chicago Press Journals
Climate Change News and Current Climate Change Events RSSArctic ice on the verge of another all-time low
Following last summer's record minimum ice cover in the Arctic, current observations from ESA's Envisat satellite suggest that the extent of polar sea-ice may again shrink to a level very close to that of last year.
Antarctic research helps shed light on climate change on Mars
Researchers examining images of gullies on the flanks of craters on Mars say they formed as recently as a few hundred thousand years ago and in sites once occupied by glaciers. The features are eerily reminiscent of gullies formed in Antarctica's mars-like McMurdo Dry Valleys.
Why is Greenland covered in ice?
There have been many reports in the media about the effects of global warming on the Greenland ice-sheet, but there is still great uncertainty as to why there is an ice-sheet there at all.
Protection zones in the wrong place to prevent coral reef collapse
Conservation zones are in the wrong place to protect vulnerable coral reefs from the effects of global warming, an international team of scientists warned today.
DOE official cites need for major breakthroughs to cope with climate change
Meeting the world's growing energy needs while responding to global warming during the 21st Century will be one of the biggest challenges humanity has ever faced, Raymond L. Orbach, Ph.D., the U.S. Department of Energy's Under Secretary for Science, says in the latest podcast in the American Chemical Society's Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions series
Protection zones in the wrong place to prevent coral reef collapse
Conservation zones are in the wrong place to protect vulnerable coral reefs from the effects of global warming, an international team of scientists warned today.
Even seaweeds get sunburned
It is red, it burns and itches: a sunburn on our skin. However, too much sun is not only bad for humans. Many plants react sensitively to an increased dose of ultraviolet radiation, too. Yet they are dependent on sunlight.
New clues to air circulation in the atmosphere
Air circulates above the Earth in four distinct cells, with two either side of the equator, says new research out today (21 August) in Science.
Getting to the Root of the Matter
Like most things that exist underground, plant roots are out-of-sight and easily forgotten, but while flowers, leaves, and other aboveground plant parts are more familiar, plant roots are equally deserving of our appreciation. Beneath every towering tree, tasty crop, and dazzling ornamental lies a root system that makes it all possible. Roots provide anchor and support for plants, extract water and nutrients from soil, and reduce soil erosion.
Drier, warmer springs in US Southwest stem from human-caused changes in winds
Human-driven changes in the westerly winds are bringing hotter and drier springs to the American Southwest, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson.
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