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How Far Should We Go to Rescue At-Risk Species?
by Candice Gaukel Andrews | July 16th, 2010 | 8 Comments
topic: Green Living | tags: assisted migration, Australia, biodiversity, botanic gardens, butterfly, citizen activists, citizen science, climate change, dune thistle, ecology, endangered, environment, environmental activists, extinct, extinction, fauna, flora, Florida torreya, global-warming, habitat destruction, natural habitats, plants, Queensland, species extinction, Torreya Guardians, wildflower, wildlife
The white lemuroid possum may soon hold a brand-new world title: First species to go extinct due to climate change.
In December 2009, scientists reported that the possum is missing from its only home in the mountain forests of northern Queensland, Australia. It hasn’t been seen there in three years. A slight temperature rise (of only 1 or 2 degrees) is likely the reason: The possum typically dies in as few as four or five hours at 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
