Some Mammals May Have Trouble Keeping Pace With Climate Change

Across the Western Hemisphere, 9.2 percent of mammals on average will potentially be unable to keep pace with climate change, and in some areas this could be as high as 39 percent, according to a recent study published in PNAS. The authors modeled the speed at which species will need to move to find new suitable range as the climate changes, and then compared these velocities with those at which 493 mammals are currently able to move. Science Daily reports that primate species and the species group that includes moles and shrews will have the most difficulty keeping pace. Most interesting for the Southwest, however, is that carnivores such as coyotes and wolves, the species group that includes deer, and the group that includes armadillos are expected to be better able to move to new areas to adapt to climate change.