<
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-08/margaret-river-identified-as-climate-refuge-vulnerable-possums/103674368>
'A West Australian region renowned for its wine industry and surfing spots will
be a future refuge for possums affected by climate change, new research has
found.
The state's South West region is home to the western ringtail possum, a
well-loved species listed as vulnerable due to its declining population.
A study by University of Western Australia masters student Grace Marsh and her
supervisor Sean Buckley set out to understand how the possums had adapted and
would respond to climate change.
"This is obviously quite a burgeoning threat, especially in South West WA, so
we really wanted to get a good idea about which regions might be the most
challenging for possums to adapt to," Dr Buckley said.
The research found populations between Perth and Bunbury were at the highest
risk and would struggle to adapt to climate change.
"We already know that more northern regions have this kind of nice, temperate
area that we live in and enjoy every day, [but] this is becoming a lot more
arid and a lot quicker," Dr Buckley said.
"So this is probably where a lot of the challenges are for the possums, that
this is now pushing beyond their biological limits."'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
