Mammals and Birds Have Better Shot Than Reptiles at Surviving Climate Change

The planet’s climate has changed significantly throughout history and the researchers found that these changes have shaped where animals live. For example, the planet was fairly warm and tropical until 40 million years ago, making it an ideal place for many species to live. As the planet cooled, birds and mammals were able to adapt to the colder temperatures so they were able to move into habitats in more northern and southern regions.

 “It’s possible that they will eventually adapt and could move into these regions but it takes longer for them to change.” said Rolland.

Rolland explained that animals that can regulate their body temperatures, known as endotherms, might be better able to survive in these places because they can keep their embryos warm, take care of their offspring and they can migrate or hibernate.

“These strategies help them adapt to cold weather but we rarely see them in the ectotherms or cold-blooded animals,” he said.

Rolland and colleagues argue that studying the past evolution and adaptations of species might provide important clues to understand how current, rapid changes in temperature impact biodiversity on the planet.

The study was a collaboration between scientists at UBC and in Switzerland and Sweden. It was published this week in Nature Ecology.

Contacts and sources:
Chris Balm
University of Faculty of Science British Columbia

Citation: The impact of endothermy on the climatic niche evolution and the distribution of vertebrate diversity.
Jonathan Rolland, Daniele Silvestro, Dolph Schluter, Antoine Guisan, Olivier Broennimann, Nicolas Salamin..  Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2018; DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0451-9