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New article in Nature Climate Change
Climate change can lead to the extinction of the Iberian Lynx, regardless of existing conservation efforts

Conservation efforts to protect the world’s most threatened cat from extinction could be jeopardized if the effects of climate change are not considered in reintroduction strategies, concludes a new study published on Nature Climate Change under the coordination of Miguel B. Araújo , “Rui Nabeiro” Biodiversity Chair, CIBIO/InBIO – Évora. This research provides the most comprehensive analysis of the effects of climate change yet for a threatened vertebrate.

In a study recently published on Nature Climate Change, an international research team led by Miguel B. Araújo, coordinator of CIBIO/InBIO’s pole at the Universidade de Évora, holder of the “Rui Nabeiro” Biodiversity Chair, demonstrates that the conservation efforts to protect the Iberian lynx can be compromised if the effects of climate change are not considered in the reintroduction strategies put forth.

By examining the combined effects of climate change, prey availability and management interventions on the survival of the Iberian lynx, the researchers were able to demonstrate that climate change will expectably prompt a rapid and stark decrease in lynx abundance, which can lead to the species’ extinction within the next 50 years. Their findings suggest that in order to prevent the extinction of the most endangered wild cat, it is necessary to account for the effects of climate change while outlining reintroduction programmes.

In addition to provide the most comprehensive analysis of the effects of climate change on a threatened vertebrate, this study clearly shows that the effectiveness of conservation strategies to avert biodiversity loss benefits from the analysis of prey availability, climate change and their interaction in models.

Original article:

Fordham, D.A., Akçakaya, H.R., Brook, B.W., Rodríguez, A., Alves, P.C., Civantos, E., Triviño, M., Watts, M.J. & Araújo, M.B. 2013. Adapted conservation measures are required to save the Iberian Lynx in a changing climate. Nature Climate Change. Available here.

Published in 23 of July of 2013