THE BIOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ARE too often summarized by one image: a polar bear stranded on a shrinking iceberg. Though iconic, this trope glosses over the rich story of struggle and adaptation that underpins all climate change scenarios. Because what matters is not so much the change itself, as the responses to that change. If every species was able to get along just as well in all conditions, then altering the weather wouldn't matter in the slightest. But that's not how nature works. Biodiversity stems from specialisation, a great accumulation of plants and animals adapted to particular environmental conditions. With those conditions now in flux, species must react in order to survive - changing locations, behaviours and even their bodies in profound and surprising ways.
Chilling on the rocks
Rocky Mountains, USA
Pikas benefit from a cool microclimate
IMAGINE A GREYISH-BROWN, RABBIT-LIKE creature the size of a grapefruit and nearly as round that is an American pika. These rotund little mammals inhabit high mountains from the Rockies westwards to the Pacific Ocean, and have always been considered at risk in a warming climate. Like other alpine residents, pikas have nowhere else to go when temperatures rise and habitats shift uphill. But in an era defined by change and adaptation, new research suggests they might benefit from an unusual strategy - do nothing.
Pikas live almost exclusively in and around rocky slopes known as taluses, nesting in crevices between the boulders and venturing out only a few feet to gather grasses and wildflowers from nearby meadows. (They drag the snipped vegetation back home for later consumption, storing it in piles charmingly referred to - even in scientific papers -as haystacks.)
Denne historien er fra June 2022-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
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Denne historien er fra June 2022-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Does cloning create identical copies?
EMBRYOS ARE MADE OF STEM CELLS that divide to give rise to different types of cells, everything from skin to brain cells. Scientists once thought that reproductive cloning creating a genetically identical copy of an individual organism - would be impossible without using stem cells and that the path leading to mature 'differentiated' cells was irreversible. But clawed frogs proved them wrong...
Tool-using animals
Our pick of 10 species that exhibit this special skill
Mission Blue
Sylvia Earle has dedicated her life to marine conservation; she tells BBC Wildlife why protecting the ocean is essential to all life on earth
RESHARK
The world's first shark rewilding initiative has seen zebra sharks released in the waters of Indonesia's Raja Ampat archipelago
ON DECK
Ferries aren't just for transport, they're also perfect vessels for conservation
IT'S A COLOURFUL LIFE
Delve into the unique and complex biology of the clownfish, arguably the world's most famous fish
BAHAMAS BENEATH
A dive into the waters of this famous island nation with the creatures that call it home
"To save the reef, we need everybody involved"
Indigenous peoples may hold the key to protecting the Great Barrier Reef
SPINNING AROUND
Going around in circles proves fruitful for this filter-feeder
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT
On balmy evenings, amorous beetles put on a spellbinding show in North American forests