Ethiopian wolves have been observed foraging for nectar from the Ethiopian red hot poker flower, with some of the canids visiting up to 30 blooms in one round, a press release from University of Oxford said.
It is a newly documented behavior for the wolves, and when they partake of the unusual treat, their muzzles get covered in pollen, which could potentially be transferred from flower to flower.
The process is possibly the first known interaction of a plant and pollinator involving a large predator. Ethiopian wolves are also the only large carnivore predators to have ever been seen feeding on nectar.
“These findings highlight just how much we still have to learn about one of the world’s most-threatened carnivores. It also demonstrates the complexity of interactions between different species living on the beautiful Roof of Africa,” said lead author of the study Dr. Sandra Lai, a University of Oxford-based senior scientist with the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP), in the press release. “This extremely unique and biodiverse ecosystem remains under threat from habitat loss and fragmentation.”
The rarest of the world’s wild canid species, the Ethiopian wolf is Africa’s most threatened carnivore. Only found in the highlands of Ethiopia, fewer than 500 of these beautiful creatures remain, restricted to 99 packs living in six Afroalpine enclaves.
During the study, EWCP researchers discovered evidence of the wolves using social learning, with juveniles accompanying adults to the flower fields.
“I first became aware of the nectar of the Ethiopian red hot poker when I saw children of shepherds in the Bale Mountains licking the flowers. In no time, I had a taste of it myself — the nectar was pleasantly sweet. When I later saw the wolves doing the same, I knew they were enjoying themselves, tapping into this unusual source of energy,” said Professor Claudio Sillero, founder and director of EWCP, in the press release. “I am chuffed that we have now reported this behavior as being commonplace among Ethiopian wolves and explored its ecological significance.”
The study, “Canids as pollinators? Nectar foraging by Ethiopian wolves may contribute to the pollination of Kniphofia foliosa,” was published in the journal Ecology.
Founded in 1995, EWCP is Ethiopia’s longest-running conservation program, with the purpose of protecting the wolves and their habitat. The program — a partnership between University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Dinknesh Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority — aims to preserve natural habitats for wildlife and humans in Ethiopia’s highlands.
According to a new analysis from think tank Ember, evidence is growing that the planet is nearing a global peak in fossil fuel emissions from the power sector.
Half the economies in the world are making the transition away from fossil fuel use, and are five or more years past a peak in fossil power generation.
“With half the world now in a period of declining fossil fuels in the power sector – and China close to joining them – the world will soon enter a new era of falling fossil generation,” said Dave Jones, author of the analysis and director of Ember’s Global Insights Programme, as Business Green reported. “But we’re not quite there yet.”
Coal is quickly becoming obsolete in the world’s richest countries. The United Kingdom, where the Industrial Revolution began, shut down its last coal-fired power plant in 2024.
A third of the richest nations in the world are now free of coal as a power source, Jones said in a press release from Ember. Across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, coal consumption has been cut in half since use of the dirty fuel peaked in 2008.
“Almost all OECD countries are making good progress on phasing out coal power, replacing it predominantly with solar and wind. Three-quarters of OECD countries plan to be coal-free by 2030,” Jones said.
This year set another record for renewables, but it was coupled with a steep rise in energy demand. This resulted in what will likely be yet another record year for oil, gas and coal consumption. However, the most recent renewable electricity trends indicate that the world is approaching a turning point where fossil demand in the power sector begins to fall.
“The era of fossil growth is over, but current policies do not yet set the world on course for a rapid decline in fossil fuels. Indeed, under current policies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts fossil fuel demand in the power sector in 2030 to be just 2% below 2023 levels,” Jones added. “Whilst there was no timeline or ambition with which to ‘transition away from fossil fuels’, a 2% fall by 2030 is a world away from the 43% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions needed by 2030 to align with a 1.5C pathway.”
According to Jones, governments have taken little action to upgrade their renewables targets since an agreement was reached to triple renewable energy capacity worldwide by the end of the decade. In the 12 months leading up to October of this year, only eight nations had updated their renewables goals to 2030.
“The world is embracing renewables. Many countries are already showing successful models for rapid renewables deployment, supported by enhanced grids, locally-tailored flexibility solutions such as battery storage, and timely policy interventions. The progress we are seeing so far should stop fossil fuels rising further,” Jones explained. “However, it does not – at least yet – mean a transition away from fossil fuels. A great focus will be needed on efficiency, unlocking barriers to renewables deployment, investing in clean flexibility and planning our move away from a fossil fuel economy.”
About 80 percent of hurricanes generated in the Atlantic Basin from 2019 to 2023 had maximum wind speeds that were 18 mph higher on average due to sea surface temperatures made warmer by global heating, a press release from Climate Central said.
“Rising global mean air temperatures and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are expected to influence tropical cyclone activity throughout the 21st century. Hurricane intensity changes, in particular, are important to understand and elucidate because they are a key driver of storm risks and damages in the United States,” the findings of the study said.
Thirty of 38 hurricanes the researchers analyzed were approximately one category higher in intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale in comparison with what their strength would have been projected to be without the influence of climate change, Climate Central said.
The report found that every hurricane originating in the Atlantic last year was intensified by the climate crisis.
Three storms — Lorenzo in 2019, Ian in 2022 and last year’s Lee — became Category 5 hurricanes because of climate change.
According to an assessment by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with each jump from one storm category to the next, potential hurricane wind damage goes up approximately fourfold. However, smaller wind speed increases that are not enough for a category change can also lead to much more potential damage.
“We know that the intensity of these storms is causing a lot more catastrophic damage in general,” said lead author of the study Daniel Gilford, a Climate Central climate scientist, as Phys.org reported. “Damages do scale (up) with the intensity.”
The study’s findings, “Human-caused ocean warming has intensified recent hurricanes,” were published in the journal Environmental Research Climate.
According to the report, higher sea surface temperatures increased the maximum wind speeds of all 11 hurricanes so far in 2024 from nine to 28 mph.
The analysis said it would have been unlikely for two of the storms — Milton and Beryl — to intensify into Category 5 hurricanes without climate change.
In a span of less than 36 hours, Hurricane Milton’s winds rapidly increased by 120 mph over warm waters with temperatures that were 400 to 800 times more probable because of climate change’s influence, an analysis by Climate Shift Index: Ocean said.
Climate Central’s Climate Shift Index: Ocean measures the effect of climate change on daily ocean temperatures, while helping connect ocean warming caused by humans with consequences like the rapid intensification of hurricanes.
The record ocean temperatures — frequently over three degrees Fahrenheit higher than normal — would have been almost impossible without being impacted by carbon pollution.
“It absolutely makes sense from a fundamental standpoint that what’s going on is we’ve added more energy to the system,” said NOAA chief Rick Spinrad at the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, as reported by Phys.org. “The change is going to manifest in terms of what we’re already seeing. You look at Hurricane Helene which was massive, 500 miles across. We’re going to see changes in terms of the velocity of these storms.”
A new UNICEF report released on Wednesday to coincide with World Children’s Day has found that eight times more children will experience extreme heatwaves globally by 2050.
According to The State of the World’s Children 2024, three megatrends will have powerful impacts on the lives of children between now and midcentury, including the environmental and climate crises; demographic shifts; and “frontier technologies,” a press release from UNICEF said.
In the report, researchers model the ways in which potential pathways could influence how children experience our world in 2050.
“The demographic trends of today will shape tomorrow’s population patterns. The carbon we pour into our atmosphere today will shape tomorrow’s climate. The technologies we develop and govern today will influence not only how future generations learn, work and communicate, but also the well-being of children for years to come,” the report’s executive summary said.
According to the United Nations, three times as many children will be impacted by flooding rivers in comparison with the 2000s, based on the continuation of current trends, reported The Guardian. Wildfires will affect almost two times more children, with many others expected to experience tropical cyclones and droughts.
There will be notable regional variation in climate and environmental crises impacting children by the 2050s. By then, the largest numbers of children are expected to be living in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The Pacific; east and south Asia; west, north and central Africa; and the Middle East are expected to see the biggest increases in children being affected by extreme heatwaves. The same regions are projected to experience river floods, with the addition of east Africa.
The executive summary said the Convention on the Rights of the Child treaty must be a guiding light as we navigate the road to a better future.
“By 2050, we need empathy, communication and policies that promote new activities and sustainable jobs. Leaders, build an inclusive and prosperous future,” said a 16-year-old female U-Reporter from Ecuador.
The report said artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies will bring both risks and benefits to children, The Guardian reported. Many currently interact with AI through games, apps and learning software. In high-income countries, nearly 95 percent of people have internet access, while just 25 percent of those in low-income countries are connected.
“Children are experiencing a myriad of crises, from climate shocks to online dangers, and these are set to intensify in the years to come,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, as reported by The Guardian. “The decisions world leaders make today – or fail to make – define the world children will inherit… Decades of progress, particularly for girls, are under threat.”
Children are at increased risk of diseases due to the climate crisis. Mosquito populations have risen, along with the illnesses they carry and transmit, such as dengue, malaria, Zika and West Nile virus.
Extreme weather can prevent children from having access to a healthy diet. Hurricanes, tornadoes, heatwaves, floods and earthquakes have also been associated with a number of mental health issues, like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The world already knows what it needs to do to limit the worst impacts of climate change,” Russell said. “Youth leaders have been forceful – and rightly so – in urging national leaders to stick to their climate commitments. To ignore those calls is to betray the futures of children and young people. We cannot allow that to happen.”
The vast array of Earth’s plants and animals is what makes our world so exciting and beautiful. When it comes to forests, having a diversity of tree species comes with an added bonus that benefits the entire planet: a higher rate of carbon sequestration.
A new study has found that forests with greater tree diversity are more productive, which potentially means extra efficiency in capturing carbon from the atmosphere.
An international team of researchers has found that faster-growing trees that capture carbon more quickly tend to be on the smaller side and have shorter lifespans. This means they store less carbon and release it back into the atmosphere at a faster pace as well, a press release from University of Birmingham said.
On the other hand, trees that grow more slowly are larger, live longer and tend to capture more carbon, especially in an exceptionally diverse forest.
“At the community level, we find that more diverse forests, which include a wider mix of fast-growing short-lived and slow-growing long-lived species, sequester more carbon. This result suggests that more demographically diverse forests are better able to tap into a larger resource pool within a given environment (e.g., include tree species that acquire nutrients from different soil profiles), which minimizes direct competition for limited resources,” lead author of the study Dr. Lalasia Murphy, a lecturer in the department of environmental systems science at ETH Zurich, told EcoWatch in an email. “Alternatively, this emergent trend could be due to positive facilitation among species. Either way, this result emphasizes the importance of forest biodiversity.”
More specifically, certain types of trees have the ability to capture higher amounts of carbon than others.
“Forests with diverse tree species can capture carbon more effectively, meaning that promoting forest biodiversity in forests can help capture more carbon. Understanding how these factors are linked can guide restoration and conservation projects. By selecting the right mix of tree species, we may be able to maximize carbon storage and develop strategies that enhance forest resilience to climate change,” said co-author of the study Dr. Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, a Birmingham-based researcher from Brazil, in the press release.
The research team analyzed 3.2 million tree measurements from 1,127 species growing in forests from northern Canada to southern Brazil, and mapped the life expectancies of trees that were from 1.3 to almost 3,200 years old.
“Slow-growing long-lived species capture carbon at slower rates but also store that carbon for substantially longer periods (100s to 1,000s of years). Keep in mind that species growth-longevity relationships have different implications than community-level trends,” Murphy told EcoWatch.
In the study, the researchers identified four primary types of tree life-cycles: three clusters of slow-growing tree species and those that are fast-growing but have shorter lifespans.
On one end of the growth cluster are species that have small maximum sizes and high life expectancies. On the other end are tree species with large maximum sizes and low life expectancies.
“Tree growth and lifespan trade-offs are crucial for the planet’s carbon balance. The positive relationship between trait diversity and productivity suggests that maintaining diverse forests is crucial for ecosystem health and climate change mitigation,” Esquivel-Muelbert said in the press release.
The team discovered that all four demographic functional types were found in tropical regions, while species located in non-tropical areas were part of two clusters of mostly slow-growing tree species. They found the mean life expectancy of the trees tended to be longer outside the tropics.
The research team mapped the life history traits of species across the Americas and found a strong correlation between tree growth and temperature, with cooler climates being associated with slower growth.
They also found that tropical forests exhibited higher diversity in comparison with boreal and temperate forests.
Murphy clarified why tropical forests have a higher diversity of tree species. “There are several possible explanations for this emergent pattern. Cold temperatures in the boreal regions likely constrain the range of strategies that can persist over evolutionary time, acting as an environmental filter that excludes fast-growing short-lived species. At the same time, more productive tropical forests are thought to have higher levels of competition among species. Theoretically, this should lead to strong selective pressures over evolutionary time, causing species to differentiate to avoid direct competition and coexist (e.g., adopt fast- and slow-growth strategies),” Murphy told EcoWatch. “Basically, we find a wider range of fast-growing short-lived species and slow-growing long-lived species in the tropics and a narrower range of predominantly slow-growing long-lived species in the boreal north.”
If they are not subjected to deforestation, wildfires or other interruptions to their life cycle, tropical forest tree species can have similar life spans to those in boreal forests.
“In the absence of human disturbance, the oldest trees in tropical forests live as long as the oldest trees in boreal forests,” a press release from ETH Zurich said.
The study, “The pace of life for forest trees,” was published in the journal Science.
“This study provides a broad-scale assessment of tree life expectancy for species across the Americas, with estimates ranging from tens to thousands of years,” Murphy said in the press release. “These findings provide new insights that can be used to inform biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.”
To help make forests more diverse, Murphy suggested protecting remaining intact forests and supporting restoration efforts that “prioritize native biodiversity conservation.”
For the study, the scientists used the largest dynamic tree information dataset to date.
“Such large-scale analysis is only possible with large collaborative efforts involving hundreds of researchers monitoring these forests for many years,” said co-author of the findings Dr. Thomas Pugh, an environmental scientist who splits his time between Lund University and the University of Birmingham, in the press release.
In a symptom of human development pushing native wildlife further outside their natural habitats, mountain lions living in the greater Los Angeles area have been changing the timing of their activities to avoid interactions with hikers, joggers, cyclists and other recreationists, according to a new study led by researchers at University of California, Davis (UC Davis).
The researchers found that mountain lions who lived in areas with more human recreation had shifted to become increasingly nocturnal compared with more remote-dwelling lions, who were primarily active around dawn and dusk, a press release from UC Davis said.
“People are increasingly enjoying recreating in nature, which is fantastic,” said lead author of the study Ellie Bolas, a UC Davis Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, in the press release. “This flexibility we see in mountain lion activity is what allows us to share these natural areas together. Mountain lions are doing the work so that coexistence can happen.”
The authors said the findings offered a hopeful example of the coexistence of wildlife and humans in a large, densely populated area.
“Mountain lions prefer to avoid people, but in a metro area of more than 18 million people, natural areas inhabited by mountain lions and other wildlife are also heavily used by recreationists,” the press release said.
To find out if and in what ways mountain lions were shifting their activities in response to the recreationists, the research team monitored 22 lions’ movements in and around the Santa Monica Mountains from 2011 to 2018.
Biologists captured lions living inside the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and fitted them with GPS and accelerometer collars. They then analyzed the data, quantifying the area’s human recreational activity using a global database of activities tracked by GPS.
“These results are really important in that they show how humans may be affecting wildlife in less obvious ways than killing them with vehicles,” said Seth Riley, the park’s head of wildlife, in the press release. “The study also continues to drive home the amazing fact that a population of a large felid predator persists in one of the largest urban areas in the world. That would not be possible if mountain lions weren’t able to adjust to human activity in ways like this.”
The findings demonstrated that the highest recreational activity levels were in Griffith Park, while Los Padres National Forest and the Santa Susana Mountains had the least amount of activity.
“The least nocturnal mountain lion was female P13 in the central and western Santa Monica Mountains. Females, in general, were found to be more active closer to sunrise and during daylight hours as compared to males,” the press release said.
Female P13 was the least nocturnal mountain lion studied. National Park Service
The authors said the reason for that could be so female cats can avoid running into males, who pose a danger to them and their kittens.
Two male mountain lions occupying isolated natural areas with an abundance of trails, high recreation levels, surrounding freeways and intense development were the most nocturnal. Both lived in two of the most limited home ranges for adult males ever recorded. The most nocturnal lion in the study — P41 — lived in the small Verdugo Mountain Range, which spans several cities.
Male P41, the most nocturnal mountain lion in the study, who lived in the Verdugo Mountains near Los Angeles, an area with high levels of human recreation. National Park Service
The second most nocturnal of the lions was P22, who lived in Griffith Park and became famous for crossing two busy freeways when he was young. He continued to occupy the area until he was killed in 2022 at 12 years old — one of the most senior cats in the study.
P-22 was among the mountain lions of Los Angeles who shifted his activities to be more nocturnal. National Park Service
The study’s authors said the lions in the study show how mountain lions actively avoid humans when faced with increased activity, rather than habituating themselves to them.
The authors said that doesn’t mean mountain lions should have to do all the work. Humans can help protect them, as well as themselves, by remembering that they are likely to be active at dawn or dusk in populated areas, and be on the lookout for them when driving at night.
In the Los Angeles area, mountain lions face many challenges and dangers, including busy roads where they are often killed, fragmented habitat, exposure to rodenticide and low genetic diversity.
“Even something as innocuous as recreation can add to these other stressors we’re bringing into their lives, potentially by altering the amount of energy they have to expend for hunting and other needs,” Bolas said in the press release. “But we can feel a sense of optimism that they are flexible in the timing of their activity. Coexistence is happening, and it’s in large part because of what mountain lions are doing.”
The study, “Human recreation influences activity of a large carnivore in an urban landscape,” was published in the journal Biological Conservation.
COP29 talks, including the landmark deal on “transitioning away from fossil fuels” agreed upon at last year’s negotiations, had to be prevented from collapse after Saudi Arabia and other developing countries expressed opposition.
Over the weekend, nations failed to come to an agreement and it was decided that talks would be postponed until next year, reported Climate Home News.
That is, until President of COP29 Mukhtar Babayev announced on Monday that a plenary had been making an effort to restore negotiations, bolstered by the potential for a promising outcome at the meeting of the Group of 20 major economies (G20) in Baku.
“COP29 cannot and will not be silent on mitigation. We will address the matter [in] every direction,” Babayev said, addressing the plenary, as Climate Home News reported.
Governments have been struggling to reaffirm the commitment to make the transition away from fossil fuels in new agreements this year. Notably, the language was absent in a decision on biodiversity made at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, last month. Reports also suggested it was a struggle getting the wording included in the G20 ministerial statement.
Mitigation language, including the essential “transitioning away from fossil fuels,” is currently mentioned in the new draft text of the collective quantified climate finance goal, according to Argus Media.
During the final week of the COP29 climate talks, Saudi Arabian diplomats have been working to stymie agreements that renew the pledge to transition from oil, gas and coal, according to negotiators, as reported by The New York Times.
“Maybe they’ve been emboldened by Trump’s victory, but they are acting with abandon here,” said Alden Meyer, senior associate with London-based climate research organization E3G, who is attending the talks in Azerbaijan. “They’re just being a wrecking ball.”
Negotiators said Saudi Arabia has been working all year to frustrate the agreement made by 200 countries in 2023 to move away from climate warming fossil fuels, even though they signed onto it, five diplomats said anonymously.
Joanna Depledge, a University of Cambridge climate negotiations expert, called the Saudi Arabian government’s opposition to climate action “blatant and brazen.”
“Whereas the U.S. might disagree strongly on something, they are usually well argued with some legal justification,” Depledge said, as The New York Times reported. “But with the Saudis it’s literally a flat ‘no’ with no attempt to really justify or listen, or it uses procedural arguments that waste time.”
Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, climate and energy lead at WWF and former COP president, said energy transition finance will be a major factor in moving mitigation forward, as developing countries push for funding, reported Climate Home News.
“After a faltering first week, Parties now have a second chance to work together and build consensus around the climate solutions we need to reduce emissions quickly. It is essential that this COP sends a strong signal that countries need to raise their game on emission reductions,” Pulgar-Vidal expressed in a statement.
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Chris Wright, an executive of the oil and gas industry, as his pick to head the United States Department of Energy (DOE).
Wright is expected to back Trump’s agenda of maximizing oil and gas production while boosting electricity generation.
“There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition, either,” said Wright last year in a video post on his LinkedIn profile.
Wright, who has no political experience, has compared efforts to curb global heating by Democrats to communism in the former Soviet Union.
The fracking CEO has also referred to net zero as a “sinister goal,” The Telegraph reported.
In an unconventional move, Wright consumed fracking fluid on camera in 2019 to show that it wasn’t dangerous.
A self-described “tech nerd,” Wright has written about the necessity of producing more fossil fuels to help people get out of poverty, reported Reuters.
“Standing in the way of today’s energy system before we’ve built a new energy system, there’s just no upside in that,” Wright said. “I don’t think you’ll see meaningful change in our hydrocarbon system in the next three decades.”
The International Energy Agency warned in 2021 that the world should not approve any new fossil fuel developments if it wants to avoid the most disastrous impacts of climate change.
The DOE administers the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, handles energy diplomacy and runs loan and grant programs for the advancement of energy technologies.
The energy secretary also oversees the country’s nuclear weapons complex, as well as 17 national labs.
If the Senate confirms Wright as the next U.S. Secretary of Energy, he will take over the position currently held by Jennifer Granholm, who supports solar, wind and nuclear energy; geothermal power; and electric vehicles (EVs).
Oil production in the U.S. reached the highest level ever produced by any country under the Biden administration. It is unclear how much the Trump administration, including Wright, would be able to enhance that.
U.S. electricity demand is experiencing its first surge in two decades as EVs, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies continue to grow.
Earlier this year in a keynote speech, Wright addressed oil and gas industry members, saying, “there’s no such thing as renewable energy,” reported The Telegraph.
“Net zero 2050: zero chance of this happening, but it’s actually a sinister goal because we spend an insane amount of money pretending we’re going to actually achieve this,” Wright said.
During his four-hour visit to Manaus — the largest Amazon city — Biden announced a $50 million contribution from the U.S. to the Amazon Fund. The pledge brings the country’s total to $100 million to support biodiversity in the rainforest, plant native trees and restore lands.
“The world’s forest trees breathe carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, and yet each minute, the world is chopping down the equivalent (of) 10 soccer fields worth of forest,” Biden told reporters, as Reuters reported.
Biden was on his way to the Group of 20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, which will tackle issues like global governance, poverty and the climate crisis.
During the brief stopover, Biden saw first-hand how much water levels have fallen due to severe drought in the region. Nobel Prize-winning scientist Carlos Nobre of Brazil accompanied Biden on the helicopter survey. Nobre has said deforestation in the Amazon has altered weather patterns that sustain its tropical rainforest climate.
“It’s often said that the Amazon is the lungs of the world,” Biden said from Manaus, as reported by The New York Times. “But in my view, our forest and national wonders are the heart and soul of the world. The Amazon rainforest was built up over 15 million years. Fifteen million years history is literally watching us now.”
The Amazon rainforest is essential in the fight to mitigate global heating due to the enormous amount of carbon dioxide its diverse array of trees absorb.
During his visit, Biden also met with Indigenous leaders at the Manaus’ Museum of the Amazon.
Incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has called climate change “a hoax” and has promised to increase oil and gas exploration. He has also vowed to eliminate rules put in place by the Biden administration to reduce the number of gas-powered cars on U.S. roads.
In his address, Biden spoke of the “enormous economic opportunity” of renewable energy, declaring that the transition away from fossil fuels was too far along to undo.
“I will leave my successor and my country a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so. It’s true, some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution that’s underway in America. But nobody, nobody can reverse it. Nobody,” Biden said during his remarks, as CNN reported. “Not when so many people regardless of party or politics are enjoying its benefits. Not when countries around the world are harnessing the clean energy revolution to pull ahead themselves. The question now is: Which government will stand in the way and which will seize the enormous economic opportunity?”
Planktonic foraminifera — single-celled organisms who live in seawater — are under threat from warming oceans, a press release from the Max Planck Society said. In tropical regions, the unprecedented conditions could lead to more extinctions.
“Our data shows that planktonic foraminifera, which play a crucial role in the ocean’s carbon cycle, are struggling to survive in a rapidly changing climate. These organisms are like sentinels, warning us of the drastic effects that warming and acidification have on marine ecosystems,” said lead author of the study Sonia Chaabane, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the European Centre for Research and Teaching in Environmental Geosciences (CEREGE), in the press release.
The international team of researchers from Germany, France, Japan, Spain and the Netherlands analyzed almost 200,000 datasets going back to 1910 to find out how planktic foraminifers responded to climate change.
The researchers found that many species of foraminifera are migrating toward the poles at rates as high as 10 kilometers a year to escape rising sea surface temperatures. The data also showed that some species are migrating deeper into the ocean in search of cooler waters.
Even with these adjustments, foraminifera populations have shrunk by a quarter in the past eight decades. Tropical species have been the most impacted due to their reproductive cycles being disrupted by the extreme warming in these regions.
Rising carbon dioxide levels in the ocean, coupled with ocean acidification, lower calcium carbonate formation. Foraminifera use calcium carbonate to build their shells. When plankton die, their empty shells sink to the seafloor, so less shell production means less carbon storage.
“Rising carbon dioxide emissions are provoking ocean warming and acidification, altering plankton habitats and threatening calcifying organisms, such as the planktonic foraminifera (PF). Whether the PF can cope with these unprecedented rates of environmental change, through lateral migrations and vertical displacements, is unresolved,” the authors of the study wrote.
Bioindicators such as foraminifera, rather than individual measurements, are likely to provide a better understanding of the complex interactions between ecosystems and climate, the press release said.
“In view of advancing climate change, researchers are faced with the question of adaptation strategies individual species of planktonic foraminifera will develop in the near future,” said Ralf Schiebel, head of micropaleontology group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, in the press release.
The study, “Migrating is not enough for modern planktonic foraminifera in a changing ocean,” was published in the journal Nature.
“Our insights into the adaptation of foraminifera during the Anthropocene suggest that migration will not be enough to ensure survival. This underscores the urgent need for us to understand how the interplay of climate change, ocean acidification and other stressors will impact the survivability of large parts of the marine realm,” the scientists wrote in the study.
