As seed-hauling animals decline, some plants can’t keep up with climate change

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By Meagan Cantwell, Science Magazine. 

Excerpt: The average animal-dispersed plant has experienced a 60% reduction in its ability to keep pace with climate change. ...More than half of plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds far and wide. In the face of climate change, birds and mammals are these plants’ best chance at putting down roots in a more suitable environment. Unfortunately, many birds and mammals that carry these seeds have experienced staggering losses to their population—some large seed haulers, such as woolly mammoths, are extinct. A study published in Science last month created models that could forecast future interactions between animals and plants as their habitat ranges shift, and how species losses up until now have reduced the distance seeds can travel.…

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