Nature is slowing down, and its ability to regenerate is failing in the face of climate change, according to the authors of a new analysis of the speed of species turnover in ecosystems across the world.
The finding comes as a big surprise to many ecologists. They have long predicted that nature will respond to climate change and humanity’s other assaults by ramping up the rate of turnover, with existing species moving out and new ones moving in. Some studies have appeared to confirm this is happening.
But the latest and largest analysis, published last month by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, has found the opposite. And the slowdown is big. Measured as comings and goings over a time frame of up to five years, species turnover is down by a third since the mid-1970s, when the current trend of rapidly rising global temperatures began.
This is bad news, says the lead author Emmanuel Nwankwo. “Nature functions like a self-repairing engine, constantly swapping out old parts for new... Read more
