[MCN] As temperatures climb, vegetarian animals face risk

[Lance Olsen]

Pull quote: "In terms of climate changes," said 
biology doctoral student Patrice Kurnath, "this 
study suggests that plant-eating animals all over 
the world may have problems dealing with their 
preferred food sources.
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New University of Utah climate study paints dire picture for herbivores
By ANNIE KNOX | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 1 hour ago    *    Updated 44 minutes ago
http://www.sltrib.com/home/3405669-155/new-climate-study-paints-dire-picture

Plant toxins » Rising temps raise poisoning risk for some animals.
     
A new study shows climate change may be doing 
real harm to the lower end of the food chain.

Woodrats struggle to survive on their usual diet 
under warmer temperatures, indicates the 
University of Utah study published online Jan. 13 
in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal 
Society B.
<<http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/283/1822/20152387>>

The insight shows that mammals may be more 
affected by global warming than previously 
thought, senior author Denise Dearing said in a 
statement.

The takeaway from Dearing's research is that 
animals - and potentially birds - won't be able 
to eat as many plants as they do now, the biology 
professor said, so they will need to find cooler 
places to live or go extinct.

"In terms of climate changes," said biology 
doctoral student Patrice Kurnath, "this study 
suggests that plant-eating animals all over the 
world may have problems dealing with their 
preferred food sources."

Poison played a key role in the research.

The rodents in the study have a diet full of 
plants with safe levels of toxins that their 
livers can handle. Not each species has such a 
poisonous diet, but more than two of every five 
kinds of mammal is an herbivore and likely eats 
some kind of plant toxins. The list includes 
rabbits, deer, moose, elk, sheep, horses and cows.

In their experiments, researchers observed about 
45 woodrats. Some of the rodents lived at 82-84 
degrees Fahrenheit and others as low as 70-72.

At the warm temperature, woodrats ate less food 
overall. They tolerated less of the toxic plant 
ingredient creosote resin - only two-thirds as 
much - as rodents at the cool temperature.

Researchers also paid attention as the mercury 
rose. They found a "tipping point" where the 
mammals stopped being able to tolerate the toxins 
at 77 degrees.

The team believes liver processing of toxins may 
be reduced at warmer temperatures because more 
energy is needed to regulate body temperature.

The research was funded by the National Science 
Foundation, American Society of Mammalogists and 
the Society for Integrative and Comparative 
Biology.
-- 
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"Ten thousand years ago there were between 1 and 
5 million people on the planet.  There was plenty 
of room to expand and move, and resources seemed 
endless."

Niles Eldredge. Dominion. 1995. University of California Press.
=========================================================================
"But we need to be clear, the large-scale 
predicament and the emergent socio-economic 
stresses that we are beginning to experience has 
very little to with fraud, corruption and the 
greed of a tiny few. It has a lot to do with our 
human civilization running into limits."
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2014-03-25/anger-complicity-in-a-time-of-limits


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