A new report warns that climate change is causing shifts in species composition faster than expected. Co-author and Cary scientist Peter Groffman comments, "cold temperatures are a critical regulator of species outbreaks and also of species distributions".
Business, especially the pesticide industry, will face challenges in developing sustainable practices that will reduce insecticide use. Yet their active participation is necessary to bring about change.
When we do things in an ecosystem that erode biodiversity — we chop forests into bits or replace habitat with agricultural fields — we tend to get rid of species that serve a protective role.
Some French colleagues of mine recently discovered if you take cows up to the alpine pastures along the ski trails during or just after rain, they, not surprisingly, leave hoof prints.
In the face of our rising human population, a lack of protected areas for native species and for pristine ecosystems would result in the loss of many North American plants and animals.
