AMAZON BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The high biological diversity currently found in the Amazon is intimately related to past climate oscillations, which affected differently each Amazon region. This is the conclusion of a study that, for the first time, gathered data from dozens of Amazonian bird species, with more than six thousand records and genetic data from approximately 1000 individuals.

The results from this study, which are now highlighted by the media, show that older bird lineages originated in more humid western and northern regions. These lineages seem to have originated the younger avian fauna found in the drier southern and south-eastern Amazon.

The authors of the study highlight south-eastern Amazon region, historically more vulnerable to climate oscillations, as the most threatened by currently ongoing deforestation. Considering the current impacts of climate changes, is very likely that the historical changes in the distribution of the forest cover in this region will occur again, followed by the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, in which we all rely and depend upon.

To know more about this topic, please follow the links below:

“Aves do Sudeste da Amazónia são as mais afectadas pelo clima” | Público| July 04, 2019 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Investigadores do CIBIO-InBIO desvendam biodiversidade da Amazónia” | Notícias UP | July 04, 2019 (Information available in Portuguese)

“Centistas encontram explicação para a enorme variedade de aves na Amazónia” | Wilder | July 05, 2019 (Information available in Portuguese)

"Investigadores do CIBIO-InBIO de Vila do Conde desvendam biodiversidade da Amazónia" | Jornal Renovação | July 05, 2019 (Information available in Portuguese)

To read the national press release for this study, please click here.

To access the original article, please click here.