Warming Planet Pushing Species Out of Habitats Quicker Than Expected

[GliderGuider]

Warming Planet Pushing Species Out of Habitats Quicker Than Expected

If you can't take the heat, get out of the habitat. That's exactly what many species are doing, and they're moving at an unprecedented rate, new research suggests. The cause: our changing climate.

The researchers analyzed previous studies to determine how far more than 2,000 species of plants and animals had strayed from their native habitats. The study included regions across the globe.

All types of species studied were moving toward the poles, at an average rate of about 8 inches (20 cm) per hour, or 11 miles (17.6 km) per decade. Species are also moving upward at an average rate of about 40 feet (12.2 meters) per decade. These estimates are about three times farther than previous measures.

"There wasn't any clear overall pattern that different types of species were responding more than others," said study researcher Chris Thomas, of the University of York in the United Kingdom. "The amount of change we are seeing is greater in the regions that have warmed the most, the link to climate change is clear."

[Speck Tater]

1. In another century the remnants of the human race will be clustered around the poles, waiting to die

And the rest of the world will be one long episode of "Life After People".

[leftyohiolib]

2. and that will happen, like everything else, quicker than expected

it's ridiculous that these experts' finding always end with that phase *er than expected