Animals with small ranges and those living in regions that have not experienced major climate change in the recent geological past face an increased risk of extinction as the planet warms.
Brody Sandel at Aarhus University in Denmark and his colleagues compared the speed of climate change in various regions during the past 21,000 years with patterns in the numbers and range sizes of mammals, birds and amphibians endemic in those regions. They found associations between rapid historical climate fluctuations and a low number of endemic species in Europe and northeastern North America. By contrast, the highest numbers of endemic species occur in regions such as the South American Andes, where the climate has been relatively stable.
The results suggest that animals in regions of rich endemic fauna are particularly vulnerable to future climate change.
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Foreshadows of climates past. Nature 478, 158–159 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/478158d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/478158d
