Extinction from Global Warming: Changing Interactions Between Species May Be More Dangerous Than High Temperatures Alone

ScienceDaily (Oct. 17, 2012) — A new study, published online Oct. 17, 2012 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, reviewed 136 case studies to determine the underlying causes of why many populations have gone extinct due to changing climate.

The article, entitled "How does climate change cause extinction?" describes research led by John J. Wiens, an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University and by PhD students Abigail E. Cahill and Matthew E. Aiello-Lammens.

According to the authors, extinctions of plant and animal populations from human-related climate change are already widespread, but the causes of these extinctions are very poorly understood.

Contrary to expectations given global warming, the results of the study show that very few populations have gone extinct simply because temperatures got too hot for the plants and animals to survive.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121016203350.htm