Alert: Over 3,500 Animal Species Threatened by Climate Change
More than 3,500 animal species are threatened by climate change, according to a new analysis.
– We are at the beginning of an existential crisis for the Earth’s wildlife, says Professor William Ripple, one of the researchers behind the study.
Researchers at Oregon State University have analysed data for 70,814 species and categorised them based on animal class and risks associated with climate change according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assessment.
At least a quarter of the species in six different classes are threatened by climate change, including arachnids, millipedes and corals.
– Until now, the main causes of biodiversity loss have been overexploitation and habitat change, but as climate change intensifies, we expect it to become a third major threat to the Earth’s animals, said William Ripple, professor of ecology who led the study.
Extra vulnerable
Scientists are particularly concerned about marine invertebrates, which absorb most of the heat from climate change. Their limited ability to move and quickly avoid unfavourable conditions makes them especially vulnerable.
A 90 per cent decline in mollusc populations along the coast of Israel as a result of rising water temperatures shows how sensitive invertebrates are, says Ripple.
But mass deaths are not limited to invertebrates: in 2015 and 2016, around four million puffins starved to death off the west coast of North America after the food chain was disrupted by an extreme marine heatwave.
The same heatwave caused a 71 per cent decline in Pacific cod, and heatwaves at sea have likely contributed to the deaths of around 7,000 humpback whales in the North Pacific.
Some information
Another cause for concern among researchers is how little information has been gathered about the risks climate change poses to wild animals. The 70,814 animal species analysed represent only 5.5 per cent of all species.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species also has a bias against vertebrates, which make up less than six per cent of the Earth’s known animal species, Ripple notes.
– We need a global database of mass mortality due to climate change for animal species in all ecosystems, and a faster assessment of species that are currently being ignored.
The study has been published in the journal Bioscience.
