In the face of a changing climate many species must adapt or
perish. Ecologists studying evolutionary responses to climate
change forecast that cold-blooded tropical species are not as
vulnerable to extinction as previously thought. The study,
published in the British Ecological Society's Functional
Ecology, considers how fast species can evolve and adapt to
compensate for a rise in temperature. The research, carried out
at the University of Zurich, was led by Dr Richard Walters, now
at Reading University, alongside David Berger now at Uppsala
University and Wolf Blanckenhorn, Professor of Evolutionary
Ecology at Zurich. "Forecasting the fate of any species is
difficult, but it is essential for conserving biodiversity and
managing natural resources," said lead author Dr Walters. "It is
believed that climate change poses a greater risk to tropical
cold-blooded organisms (ectotherms), than temperate or polar
species. However, as potential adaptation to climate change has
not been considered in previous extincti