Even if scientists are able to devise a way to contain the warming climate the world is experiencing, certain butterfly species in the U.K. appear doomed.
According to BBC News, a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change identified six species whose heat sensitivity will be troublesome for their survival. Some species could start disappearing by the year 2050 if the atmosphere's carbon dioxide levels continue to rise as they have been.
"The results are worrying. Until I started this research, I hadn't quite realized the magnitude and potential impacts from climate change. For drought-sensitive butterflies, and potentially other taxa, widespread population extinctions are expected by 2050," study lead author Tom Oliver, of the Center for Ecology and Hydrology, said in a press release. "To limit these loses, both habitat restoration and reducing CO2 emissions have a role. In fact, a combination of both is necessary."
The six species the researchers singled out were: ringlet, speckled wood, large skipper, large white, small white and green-veined white. More than any others, these species are mostly likely to be devastated by extreme drought.
For their research, the scientists examined how an extreme drought in the U.K. in 1995 affected the various species, BBC News reported
"We consider the average response across Great Britain. Losses are likely to be more severe in drier areas with more intensive land use, whilst wetter areas with less fragmented habitat will provide refugia," Oliver said in the release. "We assume that butterflies won't have time to evolve to become more drought-tolerant, because their populations are already small, and evolution would need to be very rapid. The study looked at butterflies but the conclusions are potentially valid for other species such as birds, beetles, moths and dragonflies."
