Ten climate change 'flagship' species named
Christine Dell'Amore in Copenhagen
Starving koalas and homeless clownfish are among ten species likely
to suffer huge losses due to global warming, according to a report
released today at the Copenhagen climate change conference by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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A clownfish, one of ten ‘flagship’ species said to be at risk
due to climate change, peaks out from an anemone in an undated
picture. Photograph by Your Shot user Debi Hanshaw |
Although the ten species aren't those most at risk, IUCN selected
them because they are well-researched 'flagship' species that are being
affected by a spectrum of climate change impacts, from melting sea ice
to beach erosion.
"The polar bear has become an icon of climate change, and it's doing
a fabulous job, report co-author Wendy Foden of IUCN's Species Program
said by phone in Copenhagen.
But "there are other species too (that) help to highlight what
climate change is doing."
Sea Turtle gender bending
Many of the animals featured in the new report already appear on
IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species for other reasons, such as habitat
destruction and overharvesting. This makes climate change an 'additional
and major threat", the report authors say.
For instance, critically endangered leatherback sea turtles are
already at risk of becoming entangled in fishing nets or choking on
plastic debris in the ocean.
In a warmer world, the sea turtles must also try to nest on beaches
severely eroded by extreme storms, which have been linked to rising
sea-surface temperatures. In addition, a hatchling turtle's gender is
determined by the average temperature during the egg's development and
hotter sand is spawning a disproportionately high number of females.
Bleaching, tannins and ice melt
Perhaps the most vulnerable species on the new list is the staghorn
coral, which has been greatly weakened by bleaching, IUCN's Fodel said.
Bleaching occurs when warmer oceans cause corals to lose their symbiotic
algae, leaving the blanched reefs to slowly perish. At the same time,
coral declines mean that another of the report's threatened species, the
clownfish, is suffering from lost habitat.
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Sea turtle |
Meanwhile, rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is causing
eucalyptus plants in Australia to produce leaves with fewer nutritious
proteins and more unpalatable tannins.
This means that koalas, which eat only eucalyptus, will have to
consume even more to keep from starving. "We definitely didn't
anticipate that one", Fodel said.
And like the polar bear, several of the report's species, such as the
arctic fox, emperor penguin, beluga whale, and ringed seal, depend on
polar snows and ice for their survival.
No one knows what will happen to some these species when polar summer
ice completely disappears, which may occur in the Arctic by 2040,
experts say.
The report's other at-risk species include the African quiver tree,
under threat due to drought, and salmon, whose home streams may
experience changes in flow rate due to earlier snow melt.
'Weedy' species to thrive With warming?
Some species, such as mosquitoes and jellyfish, are thriving due to
global warming, experts note. But such species tend to be the 'weedy,
invasive types' that may create serious problems if they explode in
numbers, Fodel said.
Mosquitoes in Africa, for instance, are already expanding their
ranges due to climate changes, bringing more malaria with them.
These opportunists may throw off ecosystems and put further stress on
weakened species.
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Koala Bears |
"While it is true that some species will benefit, that will be an
overwhelmingly negative thing for biodiversity", said Kassie Siegel of
the Center for Biological Diversity, a California-based nonprofit.
Adaptable
Co-author Fodel emphasized that the species in the new report are not
yet in dire straits. The ringed seal, for example, is still the most
common seal in the Arctic.
"They can adapt, it's a question of whether climate change is slow
enough for them to adapt," she said.
And that may rest on the outcome of this week's climate talks, which
end Friday, said the Center for Biological Diversity's Siegel.
As of Monday, the draft negotiations would allow Earth's carbon
dioxide levels to rise to 650 parts per million by 2100, which in turn
would warm the Earth by up to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius)
by the same year, scientists estimate.
That, Siegel said, would "equal extinction for essentially all of
these species, plus thousands of others."
National
Geographic News |
