The first casual link between climate change and the timing of a natural event, which is namely the emergence of the common brown butterfly, has been established by scientists.
Although there have been strong correlations between global warming and changes in the timing of events such as animal migration and flowering, it has been hard to show a cause-and-effect link.
Climate Change Reorganized Tibetan Culture 700 Years Ago: Study
Changes in weather 700 years ago might have forced Tibetans to reorganize their society, an anthropologist has claimed.
Changes in weather 700 years ago might have forced Tibetans to reorganize their society, an anthropologist has claimed.
The researchers compared temperature changes in Melbourne - where the butterfly is common - with recorded observations of the first brown butterfly to be seen in the spring since the 1940s.
With each decade, the butterflies emerged 1.6 days earlier and Melbourne heated by 0.14 degree Celsius.
Climate Change Threatening to Wipe Out Wild Relatives of Key Crops
Climate change is threatening to completely wipe out wild relatives of plants such as potato and peanut.
Climate change is threatening to completely wipe out wild relatives of plants such as potato and peanut.
"And we know the rise in air temperature links to butterfly emergence in a cause-and-effect pattern," he added.
Advertisement
Double Pace of CO2 Reductions to Avoid Dangerous Climate Change, Large Firms Told
The world's largest companies need to double the pace of carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions to avoid dangerous climate change says a new research report.
The world's largest companies need to double the pace of carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions to avoid dangerous climate change says a new research report.
First, they placed eggs of the butterfly, Heteronympha merope, in chambers where temperature could be controlled and found that each larval stage has a different response to warmer-than-normal conditions.
Advertisement
Climate Change Claims Causes a Ban on Two British Ads
Britain's advertising regulatory body has banned two government adverts for hyping the threat from climate change.
Britain's advertising regulatory body has banned two government adverts for hyping the threat from climate change.
"The egg, which is laid in late summer, and the first larval stage do well at high temperatures," he said.
The second to the fifth stages occur in winter and can't survive high temperatures.
The knock-on effect is that the caterpillar pupates earlier and the butterfly emerges sooner.
Second, Kearney and Briscoe made a mathematical model combining these physiological effects of temperature on development with climate data.
The model precisely matched the observed changes in butterfly emergence date.
The researchers used several climate models to find out what is likely to have caused the rise in Melbourne's temperature, and ruled out the possibility that natural weather events could account for the warming.
"There is a very high likelihood that the locally observed climate change is human-caused," said Kearney.
The female waits until the end of summer to lay her eggs, ensuring that the larva's development stages align with the seasons.
According to Kearney, if summers are longer, the female must "wait around", and it's unknown if her lifespan can cope.
"It also may be too warm for the developing butterfly to get through the larval stages," said Kearney.
Source-ANI
TRI
