Environmental Science · Ecological Modeling
A study in Ladakh, India, found that three closely related pika species use different combinations of elevation, vegetation and rock cover. The results show that a species that appears broadly distributed across a mountain region can still be highly selective at smaller scales.
A study of two Andean butterfly species found darker wings at higher elevations and differences in how populations responded to heat. The results show that both inherited traits and rearing temperatures shape butterflies’ development, appearance and heat tolerance.
A common-garden experiment found that a mountain plant showed rapid adaptation during the 2012–2016 western U.S. drought. The benefits were clearest at the high-elevation, advancing edge of the plant’s range, while low-elevation populations showed signs of mismatch with current conditions.
Researchers confirmed two bat species on Flores Island in the Azores, including Nyctalus azoreum, which had not previously been recorded there. Acoustic monitoring found that Pipistrellus maderensis was widespread, while N. azoreum was detected at only a few sites and showed very low activity.
A new paper reviews fossil evidence from past “hyperthermals” to understand how rapid warming has repeatedly driven extinctions in both marine and land ecosystems. It argues that modern biodiversity loss could become similarly long-lasting because today’s warming is faster and adds direct human pressures.
