Thursday, March 28, 2024

Get ready to have some new neighbors if you live in a city

 Two sources:

https://www.courthousenews.com/north-american-cities-may-see-a-dramatic-shift-in-urban-wildlife-species-due-to-climate-change/

https://www.cp24.com/lifestyle/climate-change-expected-to-drive-shifts-in-urban-birds-animals-bugs-1.6824650#:~:text=X-,A%20study%20suggests%20climate%20change%20will%20drive%20a%20massive%20shift,Canada%20could%20welcome%20new%20animals.

Both refer to the same study:

The authors of a new study published on Tuesday in the journal PLOS One say the warming climate is likely to displace thousands of species that inhabit urban centers in the U.S. and Canada by 2100.

I have to admit I never heard of PLOS till now, but I bookmarked their home page because they have some awesome material about the climate:

https://journals.plos.org/climate/

Quoting the cp24 source:

The mix of urban birds, bugs and other critters that humans have grown familiar with is due for a big shift because of climate change, a new study says.

On the one hand, cities with temperate climates such as those in Canada could welcome new animals.

By the end of the century, cities such as Ottawa and Edmonton could become hospitable for hundreds of new species while losing habitat for a couple dozen.

Quebec City is the champion. Filazzola's simulation suggests the Quebec capital could support more than 500 new species.

“When we get these slightly warmer temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns, a lot more species are coming in than they are leaving,” he said.

But is all this a good thing or a bad thing. Depends on what life moves in and what life moves out.

“Imagine hearing different birds in the morning when you go out to have your coffee,” Filazzola said. “It means a lot.”

However:

And many of those new arrivals are likely to be insects. Varieties of centipedes, butterflies, spiders and cockroaches are all likely to pop up in places they've never been before, Filazzola suggests.

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