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The Center for Biological Diversity filed petitions yesterday to protect four species that live exclusively on mountaintops and whose very existence is threatened by climate change:
the ‘I‘iwi, a Hawaiian songbird; the white-tailed ptarmigan, a grouse-like bird of the Rocky Mountains; Bicknell’s thrush, a northeastern U.S. songbird; and the San Bernardino flying squirrel of Southern California.
All four live exclusively in high-elevation areas, which are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Noah Greenwald, the Center's endangered species program director, said, “These four species are literally going to be pushed off the top of the mountain.”
More about the threat from the Center of Biological Diversity:
Mountaintop species are particularly vulnerable to climate change because as the climate warms, they have nowhere to go. The ‘i‘iwi was once widespread throughout the Hawaiian Islands, but is now restricted to high-elevation areas on the Big Island and Maui because of the spread of avian pox and malaria by mosquitoes, which are already moving uphill with a warming climate. Bicknell’s thrush is jeopardized by the loss of its native high-elevation forests due to warming, as well as acid rain damage to red spruce.
The white-tailed ptarmigan, pictured above, is threatened by warming winter temperatures and forests encroaching into its alpine habitats—it is one of few animals to live on alpine mountaintops for its full lifespan, and its entire body is adapted to thrive in a frigid climate so when that climate disappears, the ptarmigan will, too.
And the San Bernardino flying squirrel has likely already disappeared from one of the two mountain ranges where it lives (or used to live), and the remaining habitat is threatened by encroaching forest and increasing drought.
Four more reasons to lighten our load and reduce our carbon footprint.
More about climate change and endangered species:
The Wildlife Conservation Society Connects the Dots between Climate Change and Species Decline
10 National Parks Boasting Exotic Wildlife
Using Endangered Species To Toughen Climage Change Legislation
