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Post by High Sierra Fan on Mar 18, 2016 17:17:02 GMT -8
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Post by hikerjer on Mar 18, 2016 17:29:42 GMT -8
Too bad, but I think we all knew this was coming. Scientists/biologists have been warning about it for a long time. Wonder what species is next.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Mar 18, 2016 20:09:20 GMT -8
There were some studies reported a few years back I found interesting in that they used hundred year old records from classic natural history botanical surveys done old school: wander about recording plant distributions and such. So they went out to various southwestern areas and went over the same ground and noted what was where: and reported there were a lot of species that had retreated "uphill" over that time when comparing the historic distribution records to current distributions.
The same concern was written though no predictions, that given mountains have finite summits a continued retreat up would, sooner or later, inevitably result in the plants simply disappearing from various areas.
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Post by absarokanaut on Mar 19, 2016 2:04:30 GMT -8
Wolverines face the same issue, so do moose. More so than simply an absence of wolves I think moose have thrived in Colorado because there is simply more higher altitude terrain where their food sources haven't been as affected by climate change. I do believe wolves are a huge part of that equation but habitat availability has to be number one factor.
Pikas can't range as far as bigger animals. If an isolated population goes "extinct" I would guess we're the only hopes of restoration, but any such attempts would be futile without far more favorable climate change that may not happen for millenia or far longer.
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