Climate change alert for birds and frogs

Published on Wednesday 8 October 2008 23:13

MORE than half the world's amphibians and more than a third of birds face possible extinction because of climate change, a study has warned.

More than seven out of ten warm-water reef corals are also particularly susceptible to changing climate, yesterday's report from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said.

Changes in temperature, seasons, rainfall, extreme weather events and carbon dioxide levels are all expected as the Earth's climate warms – with knock-on effects including habitat loss and changes in fertility for wildlife.

According to the IUCN report, there are more than 90 biological traits which increase species' susceptibility to the effects of climate change.

They include a reliance on specific habitats, such as polar ice, mangroves or cloud forest, a vulnerability to small changes in temperature or a dependence on environmental triggers such as spring or rainfall to breed, migrate or hibernate.

Species that rely on interactions with prey, hosts or competitors or have a poor ability to disperse or find a new suitable habitat will also be hit.

Some 3,438 of the world's 9,856 bird species and 3,217 of the 6,222 amphibians were "climate change susceptible".