Climate change threatens Komodo dragons
Komodo dragon. Photo: Achmad Ariefiandy, Komodo Survival Program.
The world鈥檚 largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, could be driven to extinction by climate change unless significant measures to intervene are taken soon.
A new international study, led by the University of 亚洲色吧 and Deakin University, has found that the impact of both global warming and sea-level rise threatens the extinction of Komodo dragons, which already have restricted habitats, and this must be better incorporated into conservation strategies.
鈥淐limate change is likely to cause a sharp decline in the availability of habitat for Komodo dragons, severely reducing their abundance in a matter of decades,鈥 says lead author Dr Alice Jones from the University of 亚洲色吧鈥檚 School of Biological Sciences.
鈥淥ur models predict local extinction on three of the five island habitats where Komodo dragons are found today.鈥
The Komodo dragon, Varanus komodoensis, is the world鈥檚 most iconic lizard species which has existed on Earth for more than a million years, but only an estimated 4000 individuals survive in the wild. They are endemic to five islands in southeast I