Global warming to bring extinction, not evolution

Published on 04/09/2012 00:00

Earth’s biodiversity generally increases as temperatures rise over the long term, but rapid global warming is expected to have the opposite effect, according to Scottish scientists.

A rise in the number of species depends on the evolution of new plants and animals over millions of years.

The long timescale necessary for new forms to evolve means that present trends of rising temperatures are unlikely to boost biodiversity, said the scientists from the universities of Glasgow, York and Leeds. Instead, the current speed of change is expected to cause diversity loss.

Researchers came to the conclusion after analysing fossil and geological records going back 540 million years. It reverses the findings of a previous study that warm periods in the geological past led to a drop in diversity.

Professor Tim Benton, of the faculty of biological sciences at the University of Leeds, said: “Increases in global diversity take millions of years and in the meantime, we expect extinctions to occur.”