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IMAGE: The fossil remains of extinct creatures (here: bryozoans and fragments of crinoids) were the basis for studies on the interaction of long- and short-term temperature changes in the course of. view more
Credit: Photo: Axel Munnecke.
Changes in climate that occur over short periods of time influence biodiversity. For a realistic assessment of these effects, it is necessary to also consider previous temperature trends going far back into Earth s history. Researchers from the University of Bayreuth and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg show this in a paper for
Nature Ecology and Evolution. According to the paper, future climate-related species extinction could be less severe than predictions based only on the current trend of global warming. However, the researchers do not give the all-clear. At present, the effects of climate change are being exacerbated by human intervention.
Newcastle University scientists have found that 269 airports are at risk of coastal flooding now. A temperature rise of 2C - consistent with the Paris Agreement - would lead to 100 airports being below mean sea level and 364 airports at risk of flooding. If global mean temperature rise exceeds this then as many as 572 airports will be at risk by 2100, leading to major disruptions without appropriate adaptation.
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IMAGE: European eels spawn in the subtropical Sargasso Sea but spend most of their adult life in a range of fresh- and brackish waters, across Europe and Northern Africa. Using whole-genome. view more
Credit: Anders Asp, SLU
European eels spawn in the subtropical Sargasso Sea but spend most of their adult life in a range of fresh- and brackish waters, across Europe and Northern Africa. How eels adapt to such diverse environments has long puzzled biologists. Using whole-genome analysis, a team of scientists led from Uppsala University provides conclusive evidence that all European eels belong to a single panmictic population irrespective of where they spend their adult life, an extraordinary finding for a species living under such variable environmental conditions. The study is published in
Credit: Photo: Bernhard Folz
A new study published in
PNAS finds that aid provided by the United Nations (UN) in the aftermath of climate-related disasters is driven by humanitarian need rather than by strategic donor interests. The results underline the importance of climate-related hazards for understanding aid disbursements.
The study Humanitarian need drives multilateral disaster aid provides the first estimation of UN climate-related disaster aid worldwide. Although it cannot be entirely ruled out that powerful donor states interests shape UN aid flows, the UN seems able to fend off donor states strategic interest and allocate more aid after disasters where hazard severity is greatest and need is most pressing.