IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcli/v14y2024i3d10.1038_s41558-024-01939-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Deforestation poses deleterious effects to tree-climbing species under climate change

Author

Listed:
  • Omer B. Zlotnick

    (Tel-Aviv University)

  • Keith N. Musselman

    (University of Colorado Boulder
    University of Colorado Boulder)

  • Ofir Levy

    (Tel-Aviv University)

Abstract

Habitat loss poses a major threat to global biodiversity. Many studies have explored the potential damages of deforestation to animal populations but few have considered trees as thermoregulatory microhabitats or addressed how tree loss might impact the fate of species under climate change. Using a biophysical approach, we explore how tree loss might affect semi-arboreal diurnal ectotherms (lizards) under current and projected climates. We find that tree loss can reduce lizard population growth by curtailing activity time and length of the activity season. Although climate change can generally promote population growth for lizards, deforestation can reverse these positive effects for 66% of simulated populations and further accelerate population declines for another 18%. Our research underscores the mechanistic link between tree availability and population survival and growth, thus advocating for forest conservation and the integration of biophysical modelling and microhabitat diversity into conservation strategies, particularly in the face of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Omer B. Zlotnick & Keith N. Musselman & Ofir Levy, 2024. "Deforestation poses deleterious effects to tree-climbing species under climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 14(3), pages 289-295, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:14:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1038_s41558-024-01939-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-024-01939-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-01939-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41558-024-01939-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:14:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1038_s41558-024-01939-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.