In a world first, University of Queensland and CSIRO scientists have measured the relationship between current climate, climate change and habitat loss on plants and animals on a global scale.
Their results, published recently in Global Change Biology indicate that areas with high temperatures and where average rainfall has decreased over time increase the chance of a species being negatively affected by habitat loss and fragmentation.
“Human population growth has caused significant habitat degradation across the globe, typically in support of agriculture and urban development,” lead researcher Chrystal Mantyka-Pringle said.
“This alone has negatively impacted many species, but combined with rises in temperature and reduced rainfall as a result of a changing climate, there could be catastrophic results for some populations. Serious declines are already a reality for many species.”
I’ve not yet read the study, but I thought you’d like to see the Press Release.
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I thought this was a very interesting post, and i’m trying to think of possible solutions to the habitat loss, but there is no simple answer. It was interesting that not only climate is affecting the habitats but humans as well. Here is a link that is also about habitat loss: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00530.x/full