biodiversity

Eighty two percent of native freshwater fish species in California, including salmon, are likely to become extinct on present trends within the next century due to climate change, reports a study lead by Professor Peter Moyle from University of California Davis.

Cascades Frog, Rana cascadae, James Bettaso, USFWS.A recent study revealed amphibian declines are occurring much more rapidly and more widespread than expected in species populations across the United States, even in protected national parks and wildlife refuges.

"This new study confirms that our country's amphibians are facing an extinction crisis that demands aggressive action to tackle threats like habitat destruction and climate change," said Collette Adkins Giese, a Center for Biological Diversity biologist and attorney focusing on protection of amphibians and reptiles. "Scientists have known for a long time that frogs, toads and salamanders are in big trouble, but the declines this study documents are surprising and disturbing."

Lizard (Liolaemus tenuis): Photo by Rodrigo Medel / Flickr of Liolaemus tenuis (male), La Campana National Park (Chile). Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)Lizards are again in the news as being under threat from climate change. No, not those two footed political lizards we call politicians, who we elect again and again and who continue to support the corporate greed and short-sightedness of ripping the heart out of mother earth, destroying the environment and climate through subsidizing increasingly expensive fossil fuel extraction. We should be definitely trying to make them extinct. I am talking about four footed reptilian lizards who have evolved live birth as an evolutionary adaptation to living in cold climates. These are South American lizards who have successful adapted to a wide range of ecosystems.

I reported in May 2010 on the challenges facing lizards with climate change in "Why don't the people get rid of the lizards?". We are doing a very good job of driving the four footed reptilian lizards to extinction. Scientists estimate that "by 2080 local extinctions are projected to reach 39% worldwide, and species extinctions may reach 20%.". The 2010 scientific paper - Erosion of Lizard Diversity by Climate Change and Altered Thermal Niches - came to the conclusion that "lizards have already crossed a threshold for extinctions caused by climate change."

Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly for Australia 28 December 2012High sea surface temperatures (SST) of up to five degrees above normal are currently being experienced off the north-western Australian coast in a marine heatwave event. Like the extreme marine heatwave event in 2011 this will change marine ecosystems causing coral bleaching and fish mortality and impact on fisheries management and biodiversity.

A similar event occurred over several weeks during the 2010/2011 summer which impacted seafood stocks and marine ecosystems and was associated with an extremely strong La Niña event and a record strength Leeuwin Current down the Western Australian coast.

It looks like cold blooded species (ectotherms) in the tropics could be at an extreme risk of extinction with just moderate increases in temperature according to scientific studies. The latest study looked at the effects of increased temperature on the entire life cycle of one tropical ectotherm species, suggesting reproduction may suffer a catastrophic reduction as the climate warms with just moderate increases in tropical temperatures. The research has possible ramifications for all tropical ectotherms - Insects, spiders, frogs, snakes, turtles and other reptiles.

This is not the first indication that global warming impact on tropical species is greater than expected. Small increases in temperature in tropical ecosystems can have large impacts as many species are already near their thermal physiological maximum. Many species also have small dispersal ranges which increases their risk of extinction through small changes in habitat or environment.

The first in depth national study of wild bees in the US has established that several species have suffered a severe decline in population and range. Honey bees are important for commercial crop pollination of fruit, nut, vegetable and seed production in the United States, indeed globally.

Early this year the African Penguin was redlisted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as in danger of extinction. In response to a 2006 petition by the Centre for Biological Diversity the US Interior Department has listed the African penguin, the only species of penguin breeding on the African continent, for protection under the US Endangered Species Act.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) upgraded the status of the Afican Penguin in 2010 to endangered citing "recent data has revealed that it is undergoing a very rapid population decline, probably as a result of commercial fisheries and shifts in prey populations. This trend currently shows no sign of reversing, and immediate conservation action is required to prevent further declines."