Posted on August 25, 2016 by Stephen Herrmann
GONE. The Bramble Cay melomys is no more. The small rodent, the only mammal endemic to the Great Barrier Reef, is the first documented extinction of a mammal species due to contemporary climate change. So says Luke Leung, a scientist from the University of Queensland. “The key factor responsible for the death of the Bramble Cay melomys is almost certainly high tides and surging seawater, which has traveled across the island” destroying the animal’s habitat and food source, said Dr. Leung.
Australia’s most isolated mammal had not been seen since 2007. The report confirming the extinction of the Bramble Cay melomys, however, was not released until June 2016, in order to give scientists time to verify the loss of the species. Upon release of the report, Dr. Leung said it was the first such extinction due to contemporary climate change. He said his team “collected data, looked at other research and left no stone unturned” before making that assertion. Dr. Anthony Barnosky, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and a leading expert on climate change’s effect on the natural world, said the claim seems “right on target to me”.
Both Drs. Leung and Barnosky believe that the climate change responsible for the demise of the melomys is caused by humans. Whether caused by humans, aided and abetted by humans or merely not abated by humans, the extinction of the Bramble Cay melomys is, sadly, unlikely to be the last species loss to be caused by the effects of contemporary climate change. How many more?
Tags: Species Extinction