Salamanders show more resistance to global warming than previously believed
Wednesday, July 11, 2018 - 14:00
in Earth & Climate
The southern Appalachian Mountains are home to 10 percent of global salamander diversity. But current predictions indicate that 70 to 85 percent of this habitat will become unsuitable for salamanders by 2080 due to rising temperatures caused by climate change. Scientists shows that this extinction risk might be overestimated, because previous research largely ignored the salamanders' abilities to acclimate. Researchers now project that plasticity reduces extinction risk by up to 72 percent.