University hunts findings on DNA

THE long-term impact of climate change on natural communities of wild animals could be better understood thanks to a new study involving Edinburgh University scientists.

The research will help predict how migration of animals or changes to their habitats associated with climate change could affect relationships between predators and their prey.

Scientists have shed light on how species and their natural enemies chase each other across continents. Researchers used a technique known as population genetics to reveal information hidden in the DNA of small plant-feeding insects and their wasp enemies, and to show how predators track their prey over long periods of time.