Daily Sabah logo

Politics
Diplomacy Legislation War On Terror EU Affairs Elections News Analysis
TÜRKİYE
Istanbul Education Investigations Minorities Expat Corner Diaspora
World
Mid-East Europe Americas Asia Pacific Africa Syrian Crisis Islamophobia
Business
Automotive Economy Energy Finance Tourism Tech Defense Transportation News Analysis
Lifestyle
Health Environment Travel Food Fashion Science Religion History Feature Expat Corner
Arts
Cinema Music Events Portrait Reviews Performing Arts
Sports
Football Basketball Motorsports Tennis
Opinion
Columns Op-Ed Reader's Corner Editorial
PHOTO GALLERY
JOBS ABOUT US RSS PRIVACY CONTACT US
© Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2023

Daily Sabah logo

عربي
  • Politics
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • Elections
    • News Analysis
  • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Expat Corner
    • Diaspora
  • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • Islamophobia
  • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
  • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
  • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Reviews
    • Performing Arts
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
  • Gallery
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
  • TV
  • Life
  • Health
  • Environment
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion
  • Science
  • Religion
  • History
  • Feature
  • Expat Corner

Decrease in animal species hurts plants adapting to climate change

by French Press Agency - AFP

WASHINGTON Jan 14, 2022 - 10:35 am GMT+3
A fox cub reacts at Belyayev fox facility of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences outside Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, Sept. 10, 2020. (AFP Photo)
A fox cub reacts at Belyayev fox facility of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences outside Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, Sept. 10, 2020. (AFP Photo)
by French Press Agency - AFP Jan 14, 2022 10:35 am

Animals are critical for biodiversity, and not just for their own sake, but also for the plants of the world as seeds of many plants are transported into more suitable habitats thanks to numerous seed-dispersing animal species. So, the declines in these types of animal kinds are also harming plants' ability to move to more forgiving environments in a warming world, a new study in the journal Science revealed.

The findings illustrate a worrying feedback loop between biodiversity loss and the global climate crisis, with forests vital for trapping carbon.

"When we lose birds and mammals, we're not just losing the species themselves. We're losing this important ecological function, which is seed dispersal," lead author Evan Fricke of Rice University told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The paper is the first to quantify the issue at the global scale, and estimates that the ability of animal-dispersed plants to keep pace with climate change has already been reduced by 60% due to the loss of mammals and birds.

Climate change is altering ecosystems around the world, which means that an area that is hospitable for a given tree species today might be hostile in the coming decades.

There are regions where the tree can move, with more welcoming precipitation and temperature conditions, but in order to get there it must undertake a journey while still a seed.

Around half of all plants rely on animals to eat their fruit or nuts to carry forward their seeds, while some depend on wind alone.

A male oriental pied hornbill is seen in a park in Singapore, Oct. 14, 2021. (AFP Photo)
A male oriental pied hornbill is seen in a park in Singapore, Oct. 14, 2021. (AFP Photo)

For their study, the U.S.-Danish research team used data from thousands of field studies about animal traits, together with machine learning, to build a map of the contributions of seed-dispersing birds and mammals worldwide.

They also compared maps of seed-dispersal today to what things would have looked like without human-caused extinctions and reduced ranges.

The models went into great detail, including "which animals eat the seeds of which fruit, how far the seeds go from the mother plant, and also the impact of that passage on germination," said Fricke.

That means, when an animal eats a fruit, it might destroy the seeds, or it might disperse them between meters and kilometers away.

Machine learning was used to fill in the gaps for some animal species that haven't been studied in-depth.

For example, if a South American fox wasn't as well studied as a European fox, but had similar characteristics, the computational model predicted how it would interact with seeds.

The results were surprising, showing that seed-dispersal losses were especially severe in temperate regions in North America, Europe, South America and Australia, even though they'd lost only a few percentage of their mammal and bird species.

The disruption was less severe in tropical regions in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia – but would gather pace if more iconic endangered species are lost, such as elephants.

Taken together, the research shows conservation efforts and restoring animal species to their former ranges can help fight climate change.

"Animal declines can disrupt ecological networks in ways that threaten the climate resilience of entire ecosystems that people rely upon," Fricke said.

  • shortlink copied
  • Last Update: Jan 14, 2022 1:34 pm
    RELATED TOPICS
    fight-against-terrorism DEUTSCHE-BANK US-LIBYA-RELATIONS
    KEYWORDS
    climate change global warming climate crisis biodiversity endangered species animals animal world
    The Daily Sabah Newsletter
    Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey, it’s region and the world.
    You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
    Percival Lugue, who has the Guinness world record for the largest fast-food toy collection, poses with his toy collection in his home in Apalit, Pampanga province, Philippines, April 20, 2021. (REUTERS Photo)

    Filipino man collects record 200,000 toys from fast-food chains

    TOY-MANIA
    Parts of the newly completed last section of the Northern Marmara Motorway, Istanbul, Turkey, May 19, 2021. (DHA Photo)

    Turkey raises speed limits on highways starting from July

    SPEED-LIMIT

    Türkiye's 1st domestic heavy-class attack helicopter starts engine

    heavy-class-attack-helicopter

    Istanbul's consulate chronicles: Sudhi Choudhary, Consul General of India

    SUDHI-CHOUDHARY
    Belgium
    Euro 2020: A brief look at the 8 teams ahead of quarterfinals
    PHOTOGALLERY
    • POLITICS
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • News Analysis
    • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Diaspora
    • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • İslamophobia
    • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
    • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Performing Arts
    • Reviews
    • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
    • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
    • Photo gallery
    • Jobs
    • privacy
    • about us
    • contact us
    • RSS
    © Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2021