https://phys.org/news/2024-12-meta-analysis-current-global-impacts.html
"A biologist at the University of Connecticut has found evidence that up to a
third of all species alive today could go extinct by 2100 if greenhouse gas
emissions are not slowed or stopped. In his study published in the journal
Science, Mark Urban conducted an analysis of 485 studies carried out over the
past 30 years on the ability of species to adapt to climate change.
Manmade greenhouse gas emissions are causing atmospheric and seawater warming,
and these temperature increases will lead to unpredictable weather
changes—besides growing warmer, it is expected that some places will grow
wetter and others drier.
It is also likely that the world will see more extreme weather, such as
droughts, hurricanes and typhoons, in addition to thunderstorms or snow storms.
Such changes will put pressure on species that are not able to control their
environment the way humans do, putting many at risk.
In this new effort, Urban found 485 papers that involved the study of a species
and its ability to survive changes to its environment. He then compared this
data with estimates of future warming and determined what sort of changes might
occur and in which areas. He then made estimates about the likely survivability
of a given species based on where it lives and its ability to migrate or to
adapt.
He found that if global temperatures rise approximately 5.4°C by the end of
this century (the worst-case scenario), it would likely lead to the extinction
of approximately one-third of all species alive today. He notes that some cases
of chain-reaction extinctions could occur, in which a small animal goes extinct
and then a larger animal that feeds on it consequently goes extinct. He also
notes that some species groups or types are at much higher risk than others,
such as amphibians."
Via Susan ****
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
