The cool of the forest is a welcome escape on a hot day. This is especially true for mammals in North America’s hottest regions, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study indicates that, as the climate warms, preserving forest cover will be increasingly important for wildlife conservation.
The study, published today in the journal PNAS, found that North American mammals — from pumas, wolves and bears to rabbits, deer and opossums — consistently depend on forests and avoid cities, farms and other human-dominated areas in hotter climes. In fact, mammals are, on average, 50% more likely to occupy forests than open habitats in hot regions. The opposite was true in the coldest regions.
“Different populations of the same species respond differently to habitat based on where they are,” said lead author Mahdieh Tourani, who conducted the study while a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis and is now an assistant professor of quantitative ecology at the University of Montana, Missoula. “Climate is mediating that difference.”
Read more at University of California, Davis
Image: A bear cools off in a stream in Yellowstone National Park. A UC Davis study found that North American mammals in hotter regions increasingly seek out forested areas away from human-dominated landscapes. (Daniel Karp, UC Davis)