International Climate Initiative’s Post

This research on deforestation’s impact on cloud cover and climate is a stark reminder that our understanding of ecological systems is still evolving. The finding that reduced cloud cover halves the cooling effect of forests complicates the already fragile equation of climate balance. It's not just about carbon storage anymore—forests play an active role in cloud formation and sunlight reflection. This adds urgency to conservation efforts: losing forests means not only more CO₂ but also fewer cooling clouds. Shouldn't climate policies now account for this additional variable in the deforestation-climate link? #DeforestationImpact #ClimateScience #CloudFormation

Source: (Ecology and evolution) Climate change threatens Australian orchids' food-deceptive pollination systems. Study forecasts effects on orchid and Faboideae plant distributions using ecological niche modeling. CNRM predicts range expansion; FIO suggests contraction. Most climate scenarios indicate stable niches for pollinators, but global warming may disrupt orchid-pea plant interactions, affecting pollination success. Conservation strategies are suggested for future climate refugia.

Climate change disrupts vital ecosystems in the Alps

🌍 The Future of Aardvarks Amidst the Climate Change Crisis 🌍 The elusive aardvark (Orycteropus afer), a key ecosystem engineer in sub-Saharan Africa, is facing an uncertain future due to climate change. A study in the Kalahari revealed alarming trends that highlight the vulnerability of these nocturnal, burrowing mammals to increasing heat and aridity (Rey et al. 2017). During an unusually hot and dry summer, five out of six studied aardvarks, along with 11 others at the study site, perished. Their body temperatures dropped critically low, and their activity patterns shifted from nocturnal to diurnal, likely in a desperate attempt to find food. These changes underscore the severe impact of drought on aardvark prey, such as ants and termites, which are vital for their survival. Additionally, a separate study indicates that the genetic structure of aardvarks is heavily influenced by climate, with arid areas limiting gene flow and resulting in isolation due to temperature adaptation (Epps et al. 2024). Aardvarks' dispersal distances are typically less than 55 km, and increased aridification will likely lead to further fragmentation. This highlights the importance of monitoring aardvark presence as an indicator of ecosystem changes associated with aridification. As climate change accelerates, the frequency and duration of droughts in semi-arid zones are predicted to rise. This poses a grave threat not only to aardvarks but also to the stability of African ecosystems. Aardvarks' burrows provide essential refugia for numerous species, and their potential extirpation could trigger cascading ecological disruptions. Urgent action is needed to address climate change and mitigate its impacts on vulnerable species like the aardvark. Protecting these unique creatures is crucial for maintaining the intricate balance of our ecosystems. Please follow the references for more info: Rey, B., Fuller, A., Mitchell, D., Meyer, L.C. and Hetem, R.S., 2017. Drought-induced starvation of aardvarks in the Kalahari: an indirect effect of climate change. Biology Letters, 13(7), p.20170301. Epps, C.W., Crowhurst, R.S., Spaan, R., Weldy, M. and Tavalire, H.F., 2024. Influence of climate and landscape on genetic differentiation of aardvarks (Orycteropus afer). Diversity and Distributions, 30(3), p.e13792.

Source: (Environmental monitoring and assessment) LULC changes impact climate variability in Ethiopia's Bilate Watershed (1994-2024). Study used satellite imagery and weather data, revealing significant forest loss (4681.2 ha/year) and agricultural/urban expansion. Rainfall trends varied, with declines in upper catchment and increases in lower catchment. Warming trends were noted, particularly in upper catchment. Findings stress human activities' role in climate dynamics, highlighting the need for sustainable land management to address deforestation and urbanization challenges.

Science never stops sounding warnings about the impact of global warming and climate change on ecosystems. A recent international study, published in the journal Nature Communications, now points to changes in the biodiversity of Europe’s seas and oceans as a result of steadily rising temperatures. The research examined the extent to which long-term trends and changes in European marine communities, including zooplankton, benthos, pelagic and demersal invertebrates, and fish, have been linked to ocean warming. The research team used the Community Temperature Index (CTI), a standardised indicator that provides quantitative information on the status of a community in terms of species composition and response to warming based on their affinity for warm or cold waters. Analyses were based on time series of up to four decades from 65 monitoring programmes, including historical data for a total of 1,817 species in the Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean and Baltic Seas. #blueeconomy #bluetransformation

🌡 PUBLICATION: New international research warns of significant impact of global warming on biodiversity in European seas🌡   🐠 Over the past 40 years, the Atlantic Ocean has experienced a tropicalization of its communities, with an increase in the abundance of warmer-water species, while the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea, where warming has been more rapid, have seen a marked decline in cold-water organisms. 🌍 The results of the research, published in #NatureCommunications, show an unprecedented redistribution of marine ecosystems that may have important economic and social consequences. 🐟 "The increase in the abundance of warm-water species, a process known as #tropicalization, predominates in the Atlantic, while #deborealization, the process of decreasing abundances of cold-water species, is especially remarkable in semi-enclosed basins such as the Mediterranean and the Baltic, which also experience the fastest rates of ocean warming", explains Guillem Chust, a researcher at the AZTI technology centre and lead author of the study. 🎣 Ocean warming and associated changes in marine biodiversity could also affect #ecosystemservices and #marineresources. "#Fisheries will need to adapt, including adjustments to fishing grounds, fishing seasons, as well as diversification into new species that may increase in abundance due to climate change," says co-author Myron Peck of NIOZ Coastal Systems department. 🤝 This collaborative work is an outcome of the large EU-funded project #FutureMARES, coordinated at NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.   ⌛ In the study, the authors relied - among others - on NIOZ data from long-running sampling programs, focusing on fish (Anieke van Leeuwen) and on benthic invertebrates (#PauladelaParra). These long-term time series have been started by NIOZ colleagues in the 1960s and ‘70s and continue up to date, to ensure our ability to look back in time at how our marine ecosystems are changing. Together with the analyses of other data sources, the publication shows how warm-water species are steadily on the rise in the #NorthSea. Read the English press release on the NIOZ-website 👇 https://lnkd.in/g6edyZ_k

Warming results in the degassing of seas and oceans and in that sence is very detrimental to marine biodiversity. Think of a bottle of soda, you leave it in the freezer for 10 mn, or you leave it the sun. Which one of the two will fizz for a longer time when you open it? Numerous gases are more soluble than CO2 in water (SO2, Cl2, NOx, SF6, check out the ingenering toolbox, google for instance CO2 and temperature), global warming causes degassing, and not the other way around. These gases reach into the lower stratosphere, where they cause ozone depletion. As we have less ozone, which is a greenhouse gas house gas, less heat is trapped in the lower stratosphere, and more heat reaches the troposphere below it ( where we live)… and this gives gradual global warming. This stratospheric ozone depletion is triggered by our industrial pollutants: flying industry not the least (no 2) , but cement industry ( no 1), being very hot, brings the pollutants to stratospheric altitude, so cement industry is most detrimental to climate , car transport as well (3), than steel industry (4) , than sea transport (5), the rest is all together no 6.

Our paper on climate change and mercury published in Q1 journal Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. #SDG12 #SDG13 #SDG14 Feel free to read it here;

A recent study by Vacquié‐Garcia and colleagues, titled "Foraging habits of Northwest Atlantic hooded seals over the past 30 years: Future habitat suitability under global warming" was published in March 2024 in Global Change Biology. The research examines how hooded seals in the Northwest Atlantic have adjusted their feeding habits in response to rapid warming in the Arctic. This study used over 30 years of tracking locations of hooded seals, along with tissue samples such as skin and blubber. It shows that, while hooded seals have changed their diets over time, they continue to seek out consistent environmental conditions. As the environmental conditions shift due to warming, hooded seals have gradually moved northward in search of food. Hooded seals, like many other species, tend to breed in one area and feed in another area. The study also uncovered different feeding habitats between two breeding groups: seals from the Gulf of St. Lawrence prefer colder waters for feeding, while those from the Newfoundland “Front” prefer warmer areas. With continued Arctic warming, hooded seals’ foraging habitats are likely to keep shifting north. Seals from the Newfoundland "Front," which are already adapted to warmer waters, may find it easier to adjust to these changes. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ed-HsAjZ Photo credit: Kit Kovacs