Climate change cannot annihilate warm-blooded animals like birds and mammals, says study

An atypical study led by a group of researchers from the University of British Columbia has found that birds and mammals are more capable to survive the fast-changing climate in comparison to other species on Earth.

The new findings, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution shows that if the climate change problem continues to grow in future, mammals and birds will survive the most compared to reptiles and amphibians.

"We see that mammals and birds are better able to stretch out and extend their habitats, meaning they adapt and shift much easier," lead author Jonathan Rolland from the University said.

"Adaptability has a strong effect on the rate of extinction and what the planet could look like in the future," he added.

Rolland and his team conduct the year-long study on almost 11,465 species and analyse how they dealt with weather fluctuation in the last 270 million yeras. The studies prove that warm-blooded creatures have a better coping mechanism than their cold-blooded counterparts amphibians and reptiles.

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Moreover, researchers believe, 40 to 50 billion years ago, the planet Earth was warmer in comparison to present which was a way comfortable for some annihilated species like dinosaurs. But by the time earth became cooler which caused the extinction of many.

Hence, warm-blooded animals like mammals and birds moved to new habitat owing to their better adaptability while the dinosaurs like animals got disappeared.

Explaining the reasons of reptiles and amphibians being restricted in the Antarctic or even in temperate climates Rolland said, "It’s possible that they will eventually adapt and could move into these regions, but it takes longer for them to change."

"The endotherms (animals that can regulate their body temperatures) can survive better in changing climates, mostly cooler climates, because they can keep their embryos warm and can take care of their offsprings. Also, the endotherms, which included birds and mammals, can migrate or hibernate more easily than the cold-blooded “ectotherms”, whose body temperature is determined by the environment," researchers added.

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These latest findings were published by researchers  on January 29.