Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

May 13, 2008 1:06:02 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

Back to the grid

Climate Change Imperils Koalas  

Posted May 7, 08 12:36 PM CDT in Science & Health    Most Covered

(newser) – Koalas' fussy eating habits put them at special risk from global warming, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Hotter weather makes eucalyptus leaves—the animals' only food source—lower in nutrients and higher in toxic chemicals than they once were. The change could force koalas out of areas of their already dwindling habitat, Australian researchers warn.

And the koalas won't be able to adapt quickly enough to the changing character of their food supply.  "They've got nowhere near enough time to do that," said the lead researcher.

Source Sydney Morning Herald

open commentscomments (0)

Editor Recommended

Expert: "It's a very precarious existence"
Daily Telegraph (UK) | May 7, 08

More on the science
Press Association | May 7, 08

More on the pressure on the koalas' habitat
AFP | May 7, 08

Related News

  • Ocean Dead Zones Expanding

    May 2, 08 9:28 AM CDT
    Ocean Dead Zones Expanding The inhospitable oxygen-starved layers of the oceans, once relegated to the deep sea, are now encroaching on coastlines, reports the Los Angeles Times. The dead zones, linked to global warming, have moved up into continental shelves, a study in Science says. They interfere with commercial fishing and entice predators that thrive in such conditions such as the jumbo squid. More »

  • Strawberry Fields Forever, Sir Paul Pleads

    Apr 21, 08 3:03 PM CDT
    Strawberry Fields Forever, Sir Paul Pleads If you want to fight global warming, drop the hamburger, Sir Paul McCartney advises. “The biggest change anyone could make in their own lifestyle would be to become vegetarian,” said McCartney, himself a longtime herbivore. Livestock is a big contributor to global warming, the ex-Beatle says, because of the amount of land and water the meat industry uses. More »

  • Gore's New Hard Truth: Nothing Is Changing

    Apr 21, 08 3:36 AM CDT
    Despite the impact of his movie, An Inconvenient Truth, the success of Live Earth concerts and news stories about melting ice caps, little has changed and action is needed more urgently than ever to stem global warming, Al Gore tells the Sun. The Nobel Prize-winning former vice president believes it's up to voters to demand their governments enact new legislation. More »

  • March Land Temperatures Hit Record High

    Apr 18, 08 4:05 AM CDT
    March Land Temperatures Hit Record High This March was the world's warmest ever on record over land surfaces—and the second warmest overall, AP reports. Land temperatures worldwide averaged 40.8 degrees Fahrenheit, 3.2 degrees above the 20th-century average. Over land and sea, only 2002 saw higher temperatures in 129 years of record-keeping, adding to mounting concerns about climate change. More »

  • Thawing Arctic Could Set Off Methane Climate Bomb

    Apr 17, 08 4:08 PM CDT
    Thawing Arctic Could Set Off Methane Climate Bomb Climate scientists meeting this week in Vienna are contemplating a terrible prospect—the release of billions of tons of methane gas from the Arctic Ocean, Der Spiegel reports. Methane, 20 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, lies frozen in gas hydrates on the ocean floor, but rising global temperatures are loosening the ice’s grip. More »

Climate Change Imperils Koalas
Petra the koala again.   (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Climate Change Imperils Koalas
Petra the koala at Sydney Wildlife World, in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, March 5, 2008.   (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Climate Change Imperils Koalas
Tara, a koala at Sydney's Wildlife World, sits with her newborn joey in their enclosure in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, July 31, 2007.   (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Climate Change Imperils Koalas
In this 2006 file photo, an 8-month-old koala joey clings to his mother, Adori, at Sydney's Taronga Zoo. A researcher says koala numbers are under threat from carbon pollution in the atmosphere.   (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
prev   next
play

Threads (1 of 3)

Tags

climate change  • global warming  • Australia  • koala


Loading...

Loading...

Related Threads: Climate Change, The Land Down Under, Endangered Species

Next story from this section »

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Science & Health Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »