Tropical birds are noted for their broad diversity, wonderful plumage, and passing similarities to Juggalos. They’re simply amazing. A whole lot of them are also going to disappear, if the models from new research published in the Biological Conservation Journal prove correct. The cause for up to 900 species going extinct by 2100? Not habitat destruction, as is usually the case, but a projected rise in global surface temperature of 3.5 degrees Celsius.The BBC caught up with study author Cagan Sekercioglu:Mr Sekercioglu says tropical mountain species are among the most vulnerable. He says bird species will need to be able to adapt physiologically to changes in temperature and be able to move to higher altitudes if they are to survive.
He says cooler, more humid forests could recede higher up mountains and combined with human settlements at higher altitudes, forest habitat could “get pushed off the mountain”.
This would create “an escalator to extinction” he says.Click through for a good breakdown, including a small case study on the stunningly beautiful manakins. But the essence of the report highlights the largest risk of climate change and habitat destruction that’s more abstract than simple statistics on temperature fluctuation and land use: Every change to an environment creates other effects, for good or bad, that cascade throughout the ecosystem. That’s the case here, with receding mountain forests exacerbating the slow march of habitat destruction. That’s the important takeaway: When it comes to global climate, slight changes create runaway effects that are nearly impossible to rein in.
Advertisement