Climate change might drive even widespread mammal species to extinction
Published Date: 5/20/2021
Source: phys.org
In the face of ongoing global change, understanding why some species are particularly vulnerable to extinction is of critical importance. To answer this question, extensive investigation has been focused on the link between the current geographic distribution of species and the range of climatic conditions under which they can survive and reproduce to sustain viable populations. However just being geographically wide-spread and therefore to "feel fine" with even a non-subtle change in temperature (i.e. being a thermal generalist) might not give a species the all-clear. "Wide-spread species are not necessarily generalists in every way or tolerant of all kinds of environmental changes," says Dr. Shan Huang, a postdoctoral researcher at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F).