Climate change will alter water temperature, volume, and flow variability, the three main predictors of freshwater ecosystem composition. With Africa’s freshwater ecosystems already strained by the demands of a growing human population, freshwater biodiversity will face many additional stressors associated with climate change, which are expected to significantly affect the composition and functioning of freshwater …
One may think that reptiles—often seen basking on sun-drenched rocks to obtain active body temperatures—may benefit from climate change. Yet, as a group, they are also expected to suffer under climate change. One reason is because many reptiles will also have to adapt their ranges to shifting climates. Even more important, climate change will increase …
We can already see evidence of how climate change is affecting wildlife by disrupting migrations and mutualistic relationships that were developed over thousands of years. Seychelles’ Aldabra banded snail was once thought to be one of the world’s first species pushed to extinction by climate change. Luckily, a small isolated population has been discovered, offering …
In many different ecosystems, a large number of species are threatened by climate change due to poor dispersal capabilities. Lacking proper dispersal mechanisms, species such as slow-maturing plants, mosses, and flightless insects simply may not be able to keep up with changing climatic conditions. You can already see the effects of climate change on Africa’s …
The response of species living in lowlands and on plains tends to be more variable and complex than those living in mountains. While some species may only need to make minor range adjustments, researchers estimate that some African taxa may need to move 500 km —maybe even 1,000 km—to keep up with climate shifts. For …
Species that live in the mountains are particularly threatened by climate change. Because the temperatures drop from about 0.65°C for every 100 min of elevation gain (known as temperature drop) suggests a 1°C increase that climate-sensitive species living on a mountain would be displaced at least 150 m (1. 5 m/year) altitude difference between the …
Climate change on Mountains; How is climate change affecting the mountains? Read More »
History provides us with many lessons to illustrate the impact of climate change on human societies. These lessons start with the earliest well-documented example of a societal collapse—that of the Middle East’s Natufian communities roughly 10,000 years ago—which has been attributed to climatic changes. Since then, climate change has regularly contributed to the collapse of …
Threatening waves of heat, which drown coastal cities, and tens of thousands of displaced refugees … These words can very well describe a scene from the last horror film. But they also describe the nightmare scenario that we humans will face decades from now if we continue to fail to address the threat of climate …
Much of the African continent encompasses the Afro-tropical ecoregion, which is separated from other ecoregions by the Indian Ocean to the East, the Atlantic Ocean to the West, and the Saharan Desert to the North. These major geographic features have acted as barriers to movement since the African continent first took its current shape, enabling …
Habitat loss in rainforests Occupying about 7% of the earth’s total surface, tropical forests are estimated to contain more than 50% of the world’s terrestrial species. Due to these high levels of biodiversity, the complexity of biological interactions in tropical forests is unequaled in other ecosystems, and therefore also their importance to man. At the …
