Genome allows faster prediction of winners and losers of climate change
Together with a Ukrainian colleague, Senckenberg researchers examined the 120-year-old specimen of a “Crimean lizard.” Until now, these animals had been considered a species of green lizard restricted to the Crimean Peninsula. Based on the complete mitochondrial genome, the team was able to show that these reptiles actually represent a species introduced from Italy. The results emphasize the importance of historical collections. The study was published today in the “Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research.”
The Chiquitano region is a key biogeographical region, extremely diverse – but still we lost 12% of the endemic Chiquitano Dry forest…. Since July 2019! Man-made fires burned 1.4 million ha, an area larger than Jamaica. Recent laws by the Morales government allowed cut and burn in the Bolivien lowlands soy and beef. The new Bolivian government should revise laws that promote deforestation and forest burning.
