Climate change to cause animal extinction in next century

In the next century or so, one in six species of plants and animals are likely to be extinct in South America, New Zealand, and Australia. Species in North America are at a lower risk of being extinct.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - According to a study published in the Science journal, a small number of species found in South America's mountains and rainforests, are facing extinction four times higher than those plants and animals found in Canada and the United States.

The percentage of extinction of the species in New Zealand and Australia can be more than double that of the species in North America, since the ability of plants and animals to move to new locations is limited by the oceans.

As for which plants and animals are likely to vanish from the face of the Earth due to climate change, there have been many scientists evaluating species from different parts of the world that may eventually disappear.

Based on an interview with Mark Urban, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Connecticut, there have been studies made left and right on the extinction of species from the aforementioned places.

He reviewed used computer models, other statistical techniques, and 131 extinction studies to combine all data into one global estimate. Urban found that, the faster humans let temperatures rise, the rates of extinction in animals will also increase.

Currently, around 2.8 percent of species around the world are likely to disappear as a two-degree rise in temperature will increase the risk of extinction of animals and plants to 5.2 percent. Climate change affects South America's yellow crested and blue backed manakins and New Zealand's tuataras. As temperatures rise, the number of adult female tuataras declines, which prevents tuataras from growing in numbers.

The Lumholtz tree kangaroo, the yellow footed rock wallaby, the golden shouldered parrots and the pink-tailed legless lizards in Australia will be extinct too because of climate change. As for the species in Asian countries, there is little information known about their extinction.

According to Urban, the research doesn't say how climate change will alter natural systems caused by pollution or progress but at least for now, knowing this important information about the animals' chances of survival in the next century will help scientists come up with ways to prevent the extinction from occurring.

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