Impact of climate change on biodiversity

When three college students began their journey to catch caterpillars in 1965 on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, they did not know that they had built the foundation for the study of the impact of climate change.

New York University research has repeated this survey 42 years later, and found that animals on average moved about 67 meters to cope with climate change.

This is the first evidence that climate change affects the distribution of tropical insects, the largest group of animals on Earth, and thus poses a great risk to biodiversity. Global.

York University doctoral student I-Ching Chen - the first author of the new study - said: 'Tropical insects form the most diverse group of animals on Earth, we still don't know. whether they respond to climate change or not. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (AR4) report shows the lack of evidence of the problem. Our research increases existing certifications, but it also shows potential risks to biodiversity. '

Professor Thomas adds: 'A large number of animals are completely restricted to tropical mountains, such as Mount Kinabalu: many of the animals discovered in expeditions have never been discovered. see anywhere else on Earth. When these animals are forced to move up to cooler climates, their habitat becomes narrower. And because the peak area is often inert rocks, it is difficult to find suitable habitats for them, even when the temperature is right. This could lead to extinction in some species . '

Mount Kinabalu. ( Photo: wikipedia.org)

The 2007 expedition starring Henry Barlow, a member of the original expedition, his passion for caterpillars helped I-Ching Chen greatly understand the diversity of caterpillars.

Jeremy Holloway of London's Museum of Natural History, another member of the 1965 expedition, devoted his career to identifying (classifying) caterpillars from Southeast Asia, allowing the team to recognize new specimens.Armed with data from 1965, caterpillars, tents, sleeping bags and food equipment, I-Ching and colleagues began a second expedition.

Dr Suzan Benedick, a member of the expedition team and a home insectologist at the University of Malaysia Sabah, said: 'Photos from the 1965 expedition led us to the location 42 years ago. '.

The new survey involved climbing mountains and catching caterpillars to a height of 3,675 meters above sea level. When all specimens were collected and identified, the team compared the heights found in 1965 and 2007. The results show a significant change in altitude, shows that caterpillars move to higher areas than before.

However there is a quite positive thing. As the highest and coolest place between Himalaya and New Guinea, Mount Kinabalu is an important refuge. But animals feel that climate conditions are too hot (or too dry) in the surrounding lowlands to find suitable habitats by moving up along the slope of this mountain. Hill, a member of the expedition and one of I-Ching Chen's advisers, said: 'It is important to protect the forests around the mountain, so that lowland animals can reach those. more cool areas if they want '.

Refer

I-Ching Chen, Hau-Jie Shiu, Suzan Benedick, Jeremy D. Holloway, Vun Khen Chey, Henry S. Barlow, Jane K. Hill and Chris D. Thomas.Elevation increases in moth assemblages over 42 years on a tropical mountain.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, (in press)