Dec.
13, 2012 — Mammals could be at a greater risk of extinction due to
predicted increases in extreme weather conditions, states a paper published
today by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
Scientists
have mapped out land mammal populations, and overlapped this with information
of where droughts and cyclones are most likely to occur. This allowed them to
identify species at high risk of exposure to extreme weather. The paper,
published this week in the journal Conservation Letters, describes the
results of assessing almost six thousand species of land mammals in this way.
Lead
author of the paper, ZSL's Eric Ameca y Juárez says: "Approximately a
third of the species assessed have at least a quarter of their range exposed to
cyclones, droughts or a combination of both. If these species are found to be
highly susceptible to these conditions, it will lead to a substantial increase
in the number of mammals classified as threatened by the IUCN under the
category 'climate change and severe weather'."
In
particular, primates -- already among the most endangered mammals in the world
-- are highlighted as being especially at risk. Over 90 per cent of black
howler monkey (Alouatta pigra) and
Yucatan spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi
yucatanensis) known habitats have been damaged by cyclones in the past, and
studies have documented ways they are able to adapt to the detrimental effects
of these natural disasters.
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