The rate of climate change threatens to exceed the adaptive capacity of species

A recent study from the University of Helsinki focusing on the Arctic Siberian primrose underscores the critical need to curb climate change to allow species time to adapt through evolution.

A research group at the Finnish Museum of Natural History is investigating the adaptive potential of plant species amid a warming climate. Their recent study investigates the Siberian primrose, a plant species that occurs on the coasts of the Bothnian Bay and Arctic Ocean. Climate change is threatening the viability of the species.

“The Siberian primrose is a good example of a species threatened by rapidly advancing climate change. It cannot migrate to more favourable conditions due to geographic constraints, leaving adaptation in its current habitat as its only survival option,” says Adjunct Professor Marko Hyvärinen from the Finnish Museum of Natural History.

The study revealed that the Siberian primrose may only be able to adapt to climate change if the warming can be limited in accordance with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. This requires effective mitigation of climate change. Otherwise, the flowers and other important traits of the Siberian primrose are unlikely to have the time to evolve quickly enough to survive the changing conditions.

Many wild species have limited capacity to adapt to warming climate

“Our research suggests that the evolutionary potential of wild species is seriously limited in the face of rapidly advancing climate change. This means that the future of many species is at stake, unless climate change is effectively curbed,” says Postdoctoral Researcher Anniina Mattila from the Finnish Museum of Natural History.

Particularly in the case of geographically restricted species, such as many specialised plant species surrounded by unsuitable habitats, conservation measures may be necessary to prevent extinction.

The study emphasizes the needs for proactive measures to protect species threatened by climate change. For example, translocations may help species to adapt to new conditions. Knowledge on the adaptive capacity of species from studies such as the one on the Siberian primrose can help in targeting conservation measures and motivates the development of methods to conserve species threated by climate change. However, according to the researchers, the most critical action is to strive to limit climate change, thus allowing species to adapt naturally.

Background:

Importance of the Paris Agreement on species adaptation

The Paris Agreement aims to keep the global average temperature increase well below two degrees Celsius. According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global temperature has already risen by 1.1 degrees since the pre-industrial era, with the Arctic warming up to four times faster. Meeting these objectives is increasingly challenging, but essential for enabling species to adapt.