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CLIMATE
CHANGE & ENVIRONMENT
Africa's animals may evolve into new species due to
climate change
Edinburgh: A new research, by
scientists at the Edinburgh University, has suggested
that climate change could make Africa's animals evolve
into a number of new separate species.According to
a report in the Scotsman, the future loss of lakes
and rivers in Africa would influence how species such
as buffalo, wildebeest
and elephants evolve. Large populations of animals,
which need water to survive, could be divided and,
over time, evolve into new species to cope with their
new
surroundings. An isolated population of buffalo, unable
to interbreed with others,
might evolve to the size of small elephants in the
future, in order to accommodate a larger stomach,
according to the report. Alternatively, it might develop
huge, long legs to carry them further distances to
water and better food sources. Researchers at Edinburgh
University studied the loss of rivers and lakes in
Africa millions of years ago, when forests dried to
grassland. They have shown that groups of animals
became isolated from one another over large distances
by the need to stay close to a watering hole, lake
or river. Over millions of years, the groups evolved
into different species, such as gazelles, buffalo
and wildebeest. According to Dr Julian Derry, of Edinburgh
University's School of Biological Sciences, the findings
suggest that modern-day climate change may lead to
an increase in the number of species in Africa, just
as it did millions of years ago. "When Africa
dried to grassy plains, groups of animals would stay
close to their local source of water, and groups would
have become separated by large distances across the
plains. We believe this separation played a key role
in the evolution of many of the species we recognize
today," she said. "Modern-day climate change
could break up water networks like it did millions
of years ago," she added.
-Sept
1, 2008
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