CLIMATE CHANGE COULD PUT OUT RUDOLPH’S LIGHT

Watch out, Rudolph: Climate change endangers reindeer games; Reindeer habitats are shrinking in the face of global climate change. While some pockets will survive, their genetic diversity and ability to withstand change is vulnerable, say scientists.

Liz Fuller-Wright, December 17, 2013 (Christian Science Monitor)

“Reindeer may or may not be able to fly – that's a matter of belief – but they definitely need room to roam and lichen to eat, and global climate change is threatening that…[ according to Genetic diversity in caribou linked to past and future climate change from] Université Laval in Quebec…By genetically mapping the migrating population during the dramatic climate change since the last Ice Age, the researchers are able to predict both where the herds will move as the planet warms, and how diverse their herds will be…The idea that climate change is reducing wildlife habitat is nothing new, but this international team of researchers…tied habitat stability to reservoirs of genetic diversity [including, presumably, the variation that leads to bright red noses] …The more genetically diverse, the more a population has tools to cope with new or abnormal situations…” click here for more

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