Professor Blair Wolf and Ph.D. student Ric Ramirez from the Department of Biology at The University of New Mexico and colleagues published a paper in
Science this week about their research that shows bird populations and species richness in the Mojave Desert are suffering from climate change, while small mammal populations are showing no appreciable change.
Professor Blair Wolf in the field
Wolf was part of a collaborative with partners at University of California, Berkeley and the San Diego Natural History Museum. He was also a Principal Investigator on the National Science Foundation award to UNM. He was one of the designers of the research project and his research focuses on water and energy balance in desert animals and how heat stress affects behavior, activity, and performance.
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Summary
In the early 1900s, Joseph Grinnell traversed the wilds of California in his Ford Model T truck, meticulously surveying its fauna. By comparing Grinnell s data with modern surveys, ecologists have discovered climate change has not been an equal opportunity stressor and why. Until now, researchers have usually assumed mammals and birds both endotherms in a given location would be similarly and often adversely affected by climate change. But in the Mojave Desert, bird numbers and diversity have declined dramatically. In contrast, small mammals are still holding their own. Their secret: A nocturnal lifestyle and an ability to burrow help protect these furred creatures from the heat. Understanding how species differ in their vulnerability to climate change will help save money and time by ignoring those species that are doing just fine.View Full Text
AMES, Iowa – Climate change doesn’t affect every species equally.
Even among species that share the same habitat, some organisms adapt more readily than others to environmental fluctuations wrought by climate change. This realization has led biologists to try to predict which species are most vulnerable to climate change.
A new study published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Science shows how climate change is having a much greater impact on birds than small mammals in the Mojave Desert in the southwestern United States. The study, led by an Iowa State University scientist, utilized computer simulations to explore differences in how birds and mammals experience the direct effects of climate warming on their ability to maintain a stable body temperature.