Die-Offs Of Australian Flying Foxes Linked To Record High Temperatures, Researchers Say - Telegraph

[hatrack]

Scientists say that mass die-offs of Australian flying foxes, among the most dramatic recorded, show how the survival of whole species could be affected by climate change. On Jan 12 2002, when temperatures exceeded 108ºF (42.9ºC) in New South Wales, 3,500 flying foxes or fruitbats in nine colonies were found dead. Most of these were the tropical black flying fox.

Since 1994 some 30,000 flying foxes have been killed by 19 similar events, with most of these being the temperate grey-headed flying fox, according to Dr Justin Welbergen of Cambridge University.

There was little evidence for die-offs before 1994, the scientists found. Temperatures have risen on average by 0.74ºC on average over the past 100 years.

The higher susceptibility of females and young to higher temperatures can have a serious effect on breeding populations, according to the paper published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

EDIT

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml ;jsessionid=4M0S2FSWTBWEJQFIQMGSFGGAVCBQWIV0?xml=/earth/2007/11/27/eafruit127.xml

[phantom power]

1. I've been looking for some kind of centralized extinction database.

I found something like it here:

http://creo.amnh.org/pdi.html

But I think in the near future we can expect a massive spike in large-animal extinctions. This should be easy to measure from a comprehensive extinction database. I'm sure the same is true for insects and other small invertebrates, but that list will probably be so huge that it will be unwieldy.

[hatrack]

2. Kinda makes you want to learn how to play "Extinctathon", a la Margaret Atwood

"Welcome, Grandmaster Redbreasted Crake!"

[phantom power]

3. That's better than my bingo-card idea.

"(polar-bear, brain-coral)..."

"bingo!!!!"