Many tropical insects face extinction by the end of this century unless they adapt to the rising global temperatures predicted, US scientists have said.
Researchers led by the University of Washington said insects in the tropics were much more sensitive to temperature changes than those elsewhere.
In contrast, higher latitudes could experience an insect population boom.
The scientists said changes in insect numbers could have secondary effects on plant pollination and food supplies.
In the research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the US scientists studied how temperature changes between 1950 and 2000 had affected 38 species of insects.
“In the tropics, many species appear to be living at or near their thermal optimum, a temperature that lets them thrive”
Joshua Tewksbury
University of Washington
Unlike warm-blooded animals, cold-blooded organisms cannot regulate their body temperatures by growing a coat of fur or shedding it when it gets warm. They are instead limited to either seek shade when hot or sun themselves when cool.
The scientists predicted such species would struggle to cope with the 5.4C rise in tropical temperatures expected by 2100.
“In the tropics, many species appear to be living at or near their thermal optimum, a temperature that lets them thrive,” said Joshua Tewksbury of the University of Washington.
“But once temperature gets above the thermal optimum, fitness levels most likely decline quickly and there may not be much they can do about it,” he added.
Although some species might be able to migrate uphill and towards higher latitudes, or evolve to cope with the warmer climate, others might eventually die out, the scientists said
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation
Why Do We Care If Polar Bears Become Extinct?
This is not any sort of revelation: Polar bears declared a threatened species , but it does raise the question: Why do we care? By some estimates, 90% of all species that once existed are now extinct and new species are always taking their place. For the species that’s going to become extinct, for whatever reason, extinction is the end of it. However, for the species that remain, is the extinction of another species good or bad? When Europeans first colonized North America, there was an estimated five (5) billion Passenger Pigeons alive and well in North America. In 1914, they were extinct. Passenger Pigeons didn’t live in little groups, but huge flocks that required extraordinary quantities of hardwood forests for them to feed, breed and survive. Deforestation to build homes, create farmland and over hunting for cheap food decimated their population. The westward drive to grow the United States in the 1800s and early 1900s was incompatible with the needs of the Passenger Pigeon and they literally could not survive in the new North America being carved out by the U.S. economy. The interesting thing about the Passenger Pigeon was the impact its extinction had on another species—man. That impact was essentially none. Man continued to find ways to feed himself through agriculture and other technologies and the United States and its citizens continued to prosper from the early 20th century till today. Whether or not Polar Bears become extinct because of Global Climate Change or other reasons, we need to address the larger question of: Do we care and why? One of the ways a nation, its citizens and the global community can answer that question is addressed by John A. Warden III in Thinking Strategically About Global Climate Change. He asks some interesting biodiversity questions in his post to include How Many Species Is the Right Number and Which Ones?
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