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The climate under close watch Climate change simulations, impact of global warming on biodiversity, past sea levels: studying the climate is of paramount concern to researchers. 46 Climate conditions impact a large number of species in all ecosystems. They affect the population growth of African mammals, such as these elephants in Hwange Park, Zimbabwe. Improving prediction of extreme events in the Mediterranean region In autumn 2012, HyMeX launched its first intensive measurement campaign. Bringing together around 400 scientists from twenty countries, this international research program sought to improve our understanding of the water cycle in the Mediterranean basin. Combining land, sea and aerial observations, the campaign will last until 2020. The data collected will be used to refine predictions of hydro-meteorological hazards, which cause significant damage throughout the Mediterranean region, so as to better estimate their economic and societal impact within the current context of climate change. Biodiversity: the looming threat of a sixth mass extinction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ How is climate change affecting biodiversity? To answer this question, ecology experts reviewed scientific articles published on the subject in the journal Ecology Letters. Their study highlights three main adaptation strategies in species: they can change location to find more favorable climate conditions, modify their biological rhythm to match that of the climate, or adapt physiologically. For those that are unable to follow any of these strategies, however, extinction appears inevitable. To estimate the number of species threatened with extinction, the researchers then summarized the predictions of mathematical models used to measure overall biodiversity loss. All these models suggest that a very high number of species are likely to become extinct due to climate change in the coming decades, thus lending credence to the term “sixth mass extinction”, often used to describe the current period in the history of our planet’s biodiversity. Ecology Letters January 2012 online A year at CNRS 2012


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