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Posted: 17th December 2012

Map predicts climate risk to mammals
Extreme weather expected to effect mammal populations

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has published a map that shows land mammal populations, overlapped with those areas most likely to suffer cyclones and droughts.

Scientists predict an increase in extreme weather conditions as a result of climate change in their paper, published in the Conservation Letters journal. This extreme weather is expected to put certain mammals at greater risk of extinction.

Almost six thousand species of land mammals were assessed for exposure to extreme weather, with primates found to be especially at risk. However, very little is known about the impacts on other species.

Over 90 per cent of black howler monkey and Yucatan spider monkey habitats have been damaged by cyclones in the past and, in Madagascar, entire species of western wooly lemur and golden bamboo lemur have been exposed to both cyclones and drought.

"Approximately a third of the species assessed have at least a quarter of their range exposed to cyclones, droughts or a combination of both," said Eric Ameca y Juárez of the ZSL, and lead author of the study.

"If these species are found to be highly susceptible to these conditions, it will lead to a substantial increase in the number of mammals classified as threatened by the IUCN under the category ‘climate change and severe weather’."

Dr Nathalie Pettorelli, ZSL's research fellow, said: "This is the first study of its kind to look at which species are at risk from extreme climatic events. There are a number of factors which influence how an animal copes with exposure to natural disasters. It is essential we identify species at greatest risk so that we can better inform conservation management in the face of global environmental change."



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