Rising temperatures, decreasing snowpack and large wildfires have all contributed to a decline in numbers of Canada lynx in Washington State in the USA, even as steps are being taken to remove the species’ threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.
Mathematical modelling inspired by technology used by social media to document people’s social media interactions is identifying the significant impacts of warming seas, particularly in winter, on the world’s fisheries.
Scientists have been studying the tusks of narwhals in the Arctic. They reveal that their exposure to toxic pollutants like mercury has increased since the 1960s due to sea-ice decline and human-caused carbon emissions.
Research on an endangered coastal lupine plant shows that it is threatened specifically by climate change. Only four species from more extreme habitats have climate change listed as their main threat, however this study shows that even species from milder, temperate areas are at risk.
Rising temperatures and longer dry spells caused by climate change have already caused two species of plant to go extinct in the bogs of the Black Forest in Germany. Should conditions remain unchanged, scientists believe that ten more species will disappear by 2045.
Two decades of surveys of marbled murrelets on the west coast of the United States shows that these elusive seabirds are impacted by changing ocean conditions and the loss of old forest. Conservation actions must, therefore, take into account factors that influence both marine food resources and terrestrial nesting habitat.
New research from the Caribbean shows that pressures on seagrass meadows, such as clearance for tourism development, will leave coastlines more prone to erosion and flooding. The rich marine life that live in these meadows will also be lost, so urgent conservation action is required to save them.
International research has discovered that approximately one quarter of the world’s carnivorous plants may be at risk of extinction. The causes behind the losses include climate change, poaching and habitat loss, and this could have detrimental impacts in many ecosystems.
Scientists are warning that coral reefs in the Aleutian Islands’ kelp forests are on the verge of collapse. This is due to climate change exacerbating the impact of sea urchins, and the loss of the urchins’ natural predator, the sea otter.
The Komodo Dragon, already under threat from habitat loss, has found to be also threatened by climate change – both rising temperatures and rising sea-levels. Researchers predict local extinctions and urge rapid intervention.