Safe passages for species adapting to climate change aren’t always being protected, a new study by the University of Liverpool warns.
Safe passages for species adapting to climate change aren’t always being protected, a new study by the University of Liverpool warns.
With rising temperatures altering where species can survive, many are moving to newly hospitable patches further north. Key to this journey is ensuring suitable connectivity between where species currently live and where they might do in the future.
“If patches of habitat vital to connectivity are lost because they aren’t protected, a major way species can adapt to climate change will be hindered. We therefore need methods to identify the most important ‘stepping stones’ and consider these when designating protected areas for conservation,” explains researcher Thomas Travers.
In a new paper published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers used a cutting-edge software tool called Condatis to explore how species might move northwards through 16 different habitat networks in England, quantifying the importance of different patches to this connectivity. They also explored how much connectivity could be improved by protecting some of the key areas.
Read more at University of Liverpool
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