Wolverines to vanish due to climate change?
By ANIWednesday, February 9, 2011
WASHINGTON - A new research has concluded that the aggressive wolverine may not be powerful enough to survive climate change in the contiguous United States.
Wolverine habitat in the northwestern United States is likely to warm dramatically if society continues to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, according to new computer model simulations carried out at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo.
Climate change is likely to imperil the wolverine in two ways: reducing or eliminating the springtime snow cover that wolverines rely on for raising their young, and increasing August temperatures well beyond what the species may be able to tolerate.
“Species that depend on snow cover for their survival are likely to be very vulnerable to climate change,” said NCAR scientist Synte Peacock, the lead author of a paper reporting the study’s results.
“It’s highly uncertain whether wolverines will continue to survive in the lower 48, given the changes that are likely to take place there.”
Results of the study have been published in the Environmental Research Letters. (ANI)
