A new report claims that global warming and its effects on the globe’s temperatures is forcing close to half of the world’s plant and animal species to change their locations.
This news was heard in Australia during an international conference and according to the report; every major species is affected by these warming temperatures.
According to an expert from the Plymouth University in Britain, Camille Parmesan, who studies how global warming impacts wildlife, data collected from thousands of species revealed that many of them had shifted their locations towards the poles while others went to the mountains. Parmesan notes that this has been taking place over the past century.
Common changes that have been observed in the past century include early flowering of plants or cases where migratory birds or animals appear earlier in the year as opposed to what happened before.
“The worldwide imprint of global warming on life is evident in hundreds of studies,” Parmesan said in a statement. “While close to half of all species studied have since then changed their dispersals in response to climate change, the most vulnerable species have started showing the negative impacts of this.”
Polar and mountainous regions at highest risk
As mentioned earlier, it has been observed that animals have constantly been moving towards the Polar Regions and others into mountainous forests. This is true because these areas are quite cooler and favorable to these animals, but what effects will the region being migrated to feel?
Parmesan posits that areas to be likely affected most by global warming are sensitive systems such as Polar Regions that are heavily reliant on sea ice as well as the mountainous forests. She further warns that with the current rate at which climate is changing, it might be impossible to recover these vulnerable species.
At the moment, studies show that about half of species have changed their geographical location polewards or upwards whereas the another two-thirds of species have shifted their breeding, migrating and even blooming towards early spring.
Every major group has been affected by global warming
The effect of global warming has not just been felt by a specific type of species. All birds, herbs, trees, mammals, butterflies, corals, fish, amphibians and invertebrates have been affected by this climate change.
In Australia, for instance, the effects of severe heat have seen koalas, platypus and wetland birds change their patterns, University of Tasmania revealed. In addition, the organizer of the conference – Gretta Pecl – said that in Southeastern part of the country, sea urchins have moved further south down the east coast while some fish and octopus have been observed in huge numbers further south.