Press Release 12-230 Climate Warming Unlikely to Cause Near-Term
Extinction of Amazon Tree Species New genetic analyses of common
Amazon trees show that many have survived past warming December
13, 2012 New genetic analyses show that some common Amazon tree
species are more than 8 million years old. The analysis also
reveals that these surprisingly old species have endured past
periods of significant climate warming. It therefore appears
unlikely that human-caused temperature increases alone will
cause mass extinctions of the trees in the coming century.
Results of a study by evolutionary biologist Christopher Dick of
the University of Michigan and colleagues show that some trees
in the Amazon rainforest have survived warm periods similar to
the global warming scenarios forecast for the year 2100. "In the
absence of other major environmental changes, near-term high-
temperature-induced mass species extinction is unlikely" in the
Amazon forest, Dick and colleagues conclude in a paper published
online today in t