Global warming: Changing interactions between species may be more dangerous than high temperatures alone

[PhysOrg]

(Phys.org)—Climate change causes extinctions not only as a result of species intolerance to high temperature, but more commonly via a variety of related factors that alter a species' interactions with other species, according to a new review published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Contrary to expectations given global warming, researchers from Stony Brook University found little evidence that many species have gone locally extinct or declined due to direct effects of higher temperatures. Instead, climate change was found to typically lead to local extinctions and declines by influencing interactions between species, such as reducing prey populations for predators.

 

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