About 90 kilometers (56 miles) southeast of Cape Town lies the tranquilly-named town of Betty’s Bay in South Africa, home to less than 2,000 people. But it’s not the people that draw Nik Sekhran’s eye. “I enjoy watching the African oystercatchers,” says Sekhran, chief conservation officer at World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Big black birds with stunning red beaks, African oystercatchers (Haematopus moquini) are only found in South Africa and Namibia — and they only nest on beaches near cold sea water, Sekhran says. Rising sea levels are pushing these birds to nest further inland, where, he says, they are running into people and dogs. “I think a lot about these birds, who have so far managed to adapt and find protected enclaves to lay their eggs. But as tides continue to erode the dunes toward our house, the birds will be hard-pressed,” Sekhran says. In 50 years, will the African oystercatchers still nest at Betty’s Bay? Will they have anywhere to nest? The plight of these little-known birds may soon become the plight of species everywhere. “In 50 years, it’s entirely possible that climate change will have become the largest threat to many species in the world — and thus to ecosystems in general,” says James Deutsch, the CEO of Rainforest Trust. Today, the biggest threat remains habitat loss, but climate change is climbing among the perils for nature. What will the world look like in 2075 when temperatures could be 3-5° Celsius (4.5 to 9° Fahrenheit) higher than the…This article was originally published on Mongabay
How is conservation preparing for a much hotter world? Experts share
