<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">National Geographic Published July 22, 2021</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class=""><b class="">Extreme heat triggers mass die-offs and stress for wildlife in the West</b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class="">BY NATASHA DALY</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""><b class=""></b></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""><b class="">EXCERPTS :</b> To understand how wildlife is affected by extreme heat, says <a href="https://senr.osu.edu/our-people/mazeika-sullivan" class="">Mažeika Sullivan</a>, a professor at Ohio State University's School of Environment and Natural Resources, it’s important to keep in mind that heat waves are just one of the challenges wildlife face.</span></div><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">“It’s about multiple stressors,” he says. Extreme heat events are compounded by drought, rising temperatures, bigger and more intense wildfires, and increasingly fragmented habitats.</span></div><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""> </span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Animals “only have so many coping mechanisms,” he says. “And asking them to cope with so many environmental stressors that are happening over long time scales and then heat waves for multiple days—it’s impossible to talk about one without talking about it in context.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Salmon, for example, are migratory fish, moving from the ocean up rivers to spawn. They’re already stressed by the network of dams they need to get over or around, Sullivan says. </span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">But during a heat wave, they’re hit with “a double whammy,” says <a href="http://ib.berkeley.edu/labs/stillman/" class="">Jonathon Stillman</a>, adjunct biology professor at University of California, Berkeley, who researches how environmental changes affect marine life. Salmon face both increased water temperature and decreased oxygen, he says, because warmer water contains less of it. “It’s like if you had to run a marathon while wearing a plastic bag over your head, while it’s 10 degrees warmer outside,” Stillman says. “You’d die too.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/extreme-heat-triggers-mass-die-offs-and-stress-for-wildlife-in-the-west" class="">https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/extreme-heat-triggers-mass-die-offs-and-stress-for-wildlife-in-the-west</a></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(251, 2, 7); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">*******************************</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">The Washington Post July 24, 2021</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(16, 60, 192); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none" class=""><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/24/experts-express-concerns-animal-safety-heat-waves-continue-rip-through-pacific-northwest/" class="">https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/24/experts-express-concerns-animal-safety-heat-waves-continue-rip-through-pacific-northwest/</a></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 13.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class=""><b class="">Experts express concerns for animal safety as heat waves continue to rip through the Pacific Northwest</b></span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 14.9px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""><b class="">Untold numbers of animals are at risk, with extreme heat and climate change damaging natural habitats across the region</b></span></p><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">By David Suggs</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""><b class="">Excerpts : </b>Rising temperatures have coincided with drier conditions in parts of the Pacific Northwest, shaping the ways habitats interact with organisms. The full scope of the ramifications is still being studied, but it is expected to be extensive.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class=""><b class="">How does extreme heat affect animals?</b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Extreme heat, coupled with drier conditions, can significantly alter animals’ habitats. </span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Climate change “is going to affect how different plants live and or survive from seedlings on up into their adulthood,” Kehne said. “That’s going to change some of the species that occur across the landscape.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class=""><b class="">How are animals responding to extreme heat?</b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Animals have different tools to protect themselves from the effects of extreme heat. Some stay in the shade, while others lurk in creeks or lakes, according to Patrick Taylor, chief of interpretation and education at Death Valley National Park.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">However, there is only so much an animal can do.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">“One of the places where this has really been studied has been in Australia, where there have been mass mortality events during heat waves,” Seavy said. “Birds have packed into very small areas of shade, and you find hundreds if not thousands of birds that have expired from the heat.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class=""><b class="">How are experts responding?</b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">As the effects of climate change become more and more evident, some experts are reevaluating their prior projections. One of Harley’s graduate students brought propane camp heaters down to the shore in the hopes of simulating a heat wave earlier in the month.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">The actual heat wave that hit British Columbia was far hotter than the experiment.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">“We’ve had to recalibrate our expectations and now we’re focused on what might happen in the very near future,” Harley said.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffff0a" class="">“This is going to be a continual rise,” he said. “That’s really hard to get your head around </span><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">and harder and harder for people to understand that it’s actually happening and try to take action to correct that.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Still, experts remain hopeful that the worst impacts can be averted. Climate change is becoming more evident to both researchers and the general public. As the problems become clearer, perhaps so will the solutions, Harley said.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class="">“I think it is important not to lose hope,” Harley said. </span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffff0a" class="">“It’s really bad. But if we can understand it, </span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class="">that helps us plan. And hopefully, we can </span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffff0a" class="">all</span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class=""> make </span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffff0a" class="">small </span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class="">steps to make these things</span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffff0a" class=""> less</span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class=""> likely in the future.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div></div><div class="">
<div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;">=————————————————————------===-------------------------------------------------=<br class=""><br class="">“Full of recent references and statistics, Harvesting the Biosphere adds to the growing chorus of warnings about the current trajectory of human activity on a finite planet, of which climate change is only one dimension. <br class=""><br class="">“One can quibble with some assumptions or tweak Smil’s calculations, but the bottom line will not change, only the time it may take humanity to reach a crisis point.”<br class=""><br class="">Stephen Running. “Approaching the Limits” Science 15 March 2013.<br class=""><br class="">Book review. Harvesting the Biosphere: What we have taken from Nature. by Vaclav Smil . MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2012. 315 pp. $29, £19.95. ISBN 9780262018562.<br class=""><br class="">=————————————-----------------------===—----------------------------—————————=<br class=""><br class="">“Man … is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth.”<br class=""><br class="">Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)<br class=""><br class=""></div>
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