Although climate change continues to stir up opportunities and challenges for animals across the world, new research published today in Nature shows the ups and down this change is creating for one species in particular.
The study analyzed the Antarctic fur seal population of South Georgia Island, which was observed over the last three decades, to see how climate change is affecting the species. The researchers found a 30 percent decline in the female population from 2003 to 2012. They also found, however, that the declining population would most likely become genetically more diverse as climate change continues. The reason, they say, is that genetically similar females are being excluded from breeding, as reflected by an estimated 17 percent decline in genetic similarity among the female population in the past two decades.
“We’ve found that the seals have been significantly affected by climate change,” says Jaume Forcada, who directed the study and serves as marine mammal leader for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), in a prepared video statement. “This is because the availability of Antarctic krill—the seals’ main food source—has decreased, putting the population under stress.”
Read the full, original story: Hit by Climate Change, Antarctic seal population grows more diverse
