野生动物对气候变化反应迅速
文章来源:未知 文章作者:enread 发布时间:2011-08-19 02:41 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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New research by scientists in the Department of Biology at the University of York shows that species have responded to climate change up to three times faster than previously1 appreciated. These results are published in the latest issue of the leading scientific journal Science. Faster distribution changes. Species have moved towards the poles (further north in the northern hemisphere, to locations where conditions are cooler) at three times the rate previously accepted in the scientific literature, and they have moved to cooler, higher altitudes at twice the rate previously realised.

Analysing data for over 2000 responses by animal and plant species, the research team estimated that, on average, species have moved to higher elevations2 at 12.2 metres per decade and, more dramatically, to higher latitudes3 at 17.6 kilometres per decade.

Project leader Chris Thomas, Professor of Conservation Biology at York, said: "These changes are equivalent to animals and plants shifting away from the Equator at around 20 cm per hour, for every hour of the day, for every day of the year. This has been going on for the last 40 years and is set to continue for at least the rest of this century. "

The link to climate change. This study for the first time showed that species have moved furthest in regions where the climate has warmed the most, unambiguously linking the changes in where species survive to climate warming over the last 40 years.

First author Dr I-Ching Chen, previously a PhD student at York and now a researcher at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, said: "This research shows that it is global warming that is causing species to move towards the poles and to higher elevations. We have for the first time shown that the amount by which the distributions of species have changed is correlated with the amount the climate has changed in that region."

Co-author Dr Ralf Ohlemüller, from Durham University, said: "We were able to calculate how far species might have been expected to move so that the temperatures they experience today are the same as the ones they used to experience, before global warming kicked in. Remarkably4, species have on average moved towards the poles as rapidly as expected."

A diversity of changes. These conclusions hold for the average responses of species, but individual species showed much greater variation. Some species have moved much more slowly than expected, others have not moved, and some have even retreated where they are expected to expand. In contrast, other species have raced ahead, perhaps because they are sensitive to a particular component5 of climate change (rather than to average warming), or because other changes to the environment have also been driving their responses.



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1 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
2 elevations cb4bbe1b6e824c996fd92d711884a9f2     
(水平或数量)提高( elevation的名词复数 ); 高地; 海拔; 提升
参考例句:
  • Weight of the crust changes as elevations are eroded and materials are deposited elsewhere. 当高地受到侵蚀,物质沉积到别的地方时,地壳的重量就改变。
  • All deck elevations are on the top of structural beams. 所有甲板标高线均指结构梁顶线。
3 latitudes 90df39afd31b3508eb257043703bc0f3     
纬度
参考例句:
  • Latitudes are the lines that go from east to west. 纬线是从东到西的线。
  • It was the brief Indian Summer of the high latitudes. 这是高纬度地方的那种短暂的晚秋。
4 remarkably EkPzTW     
ad.不同寻常地,相当地
参考例句:
  • I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
  • He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
5 component epSzv     
n.组成部分,成分,元件;adj.组成的,合成的
参考例句:
  • Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
  • Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。
TAG标签: species animal climate
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