Science magazine this month features an article on the extinction of lizards, attributing their demise to global warming. Up to a fifth of the world’s lizards could disappear by 2080 with a horrific ripple effect across the food chain as birds and insect numbers will be impacted.
ABC Science pointed out that although cold-blooded reptiles should thrive in a warmer climate, increased temperatures will be too hot even for lizards because the heat will reduce their activity “including limiting their efforts to find food”.
Biologists' models project 6% falls in lizard populations by 2050 and 20% by 2080.