Climate change is seriously affecting the Earth, its ecosystems and the creatures living in it. The latest example of these adverse effects has been revealed and confirmed by an international team of scientists. lizards are born old due to global warming. This situation made Most affected specimens do not reach reproductive age, seriously compromising the survival of populations..
Aging is the price to pay for obtaining and processing energy through cellular activity and life cycle productivity. Climate warming may exacerbate the natural rate of aging. This is due, at least, to a study that analyzed the effects of high temperatures on the DNA of lizard populations living in the central region of France.
The study, published in the academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “accelerated aging“As a result of climate-induced population declines in the central highlands of France.
“We found an intergenerational accumulation of telomere shortening, which implies: the pups were already born ‘old’. This process has intensified over generations. population aging cycle“collects work.
By analyzing DNA samples from different age groups of lizards, the experts measured the length of telomeres, structures that preserve the genetic information of chromosomes, and provide information about the overall health of the body and the animal’s aging rate.
damaged and old DNA
The data collected during the study show that: Temperatures have risen so much that many lizards whose mothers suffer from heat stress are born with damaged and aged DNA.also a condition inherited from generation to generation, threatening the continuity of the species..
“In declining populations, most newborns have already inherited short telomeres, suggesting that: born physiologically old and less likely to reach hiring,” the researchers say.
“Biodiversity is experiencing a global crisis, alarming rate of species loss worldwide. This trend is accelerating, especially due to the widespread effects of global warming on the world. risks of extinction limited-range or cold-adapted species,” the researchers explain.
“A current problem is that we are blind to the nature and generality of the underlying mechanisms linking warmer climates to individual life history and early warning signs of warming-related extinctions,” the research explains.
Among the results of the research, it is worth noting the following. time between birth or first reproduction and death may be altered by climate warming and heat stress. This effect, which has already been proven in lizards, may occur in other animals and even humans.
Against this, lower body temperatures often benefit lifespan in both endothermic (warm-blooded) and ectothermic (cold-blooded) animals.
“Live fast die young”
“In terrestrial ectotherms, climate warming can also constrain activity patterns and significantly increase maintenance costs, as well as heat stress risks. Together, they may eventually alter key life history exchanges and a change in life history strategy.live fast die young‘ along the slow-fast continuum’ collects the scientific paper.
It’s not the first time scientists have studied the effect of temperatures on lizards. Three years ago, an international study with the participation of researchers from the Supreme Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) concluded: Lizards from cold climates are most affected by rising temperatures due to climate change.
The study, published in the scientific journal ‘Nature Communications’, showed that the decrease in humidity due to global warming creates environments that the lizards cannot support.
Lizard species that emerged in tropical environments and spread to temperate climates have adapted to cold, not heat. Their physiology is closely linked to climate, so very sensitive to temperature increases and particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Among the lizards there are species that can survive in deserts and species that live in cold mountainous regions. There is even a species of live or swamp lizard (zoo), its habitat extends further north than other reptiles, as far as the Arctic Circle.
The investigation predicted that Lizards adapted to mountain environments in Mediterranean regions such as the Iberian Peninsula, where climate warming will be particularly intense, will face the challenge of reducing the range of their habitats and competing with other more adaptable ones.. This may affect endemisms such as the green-black lizard (Lacerta schreiberi), as CSIC warned at the time.
Reference report: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2201371119
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