Erosion of Lizard Diversity by Climate Change and Altered Thermal Niches
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: It is predicted that climate change will cause species extinctions and distributional shifts in coming decades, but data to validate these predictions are relatively scarce. Here, we compare recent and historical surveys for 48 Mexican lizard species at 200 sites. Since 1975, 12% of local populations have gone extinct. We verified physiological models of extinction risk with observed local extinctions and extended projections worldwide. Since 1975, we estimate that 4% of local populations have gone extinct worldwide, but by 2080 local extinctions are projected to reach 39% worldwide, and species extinctions may reach 20%. Global extinction projections were validated with local extinctions observed from 1975 to 2009 for regional biotas on four other continents, suggesting that lizards have already crossed a threshold for extinctions caused by climate change.
Source: Science
Authors: Barry Sinervo, Fausto Méndez-de-la-Cruz, Donald B. Miles, Benoit Heulin, Elizabeth Bastiaans, Maricela Villagrán-Santa Cruz, Rafael Lara-Resendiz, Norberto Martínez-Méndez, Martha Lucía Calderón-Espinosa, Rubi Nelsi Meza-Lázaro, Héctor Gadsden, Luciano Javier Avila, Mariana Morando, Ignacio J. De la Riva, Pedro Victoriano Sepulveda, Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha, Nora Ibargüengoytía, César Aguilar Puntriano, Manuel Massot, Virginie Lepetz, Tuula A. Oksanen, David G. Chapple, Aaron M. Bauer, William R. Branch, Jean Clobert, Jack W. Sites
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of California, Santa Cruz, Station d’Écologie Théorique et Expérimentale, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ohio University, Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Evolution, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Instituto de Ecología, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagónico, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, University of Concepción, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, National University of San Marcos, Museo de Historia Natural, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, University of Jyväskylä, Monash University, Villanova University, Bayworld, Brigham Young University
Language: English
Subfield: Ecological Modeling
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Climate action
Open Access status: green
Funder: Agence Nationale de la Recherche
OpenAlex ID: W2017677393