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BOB HIRSHON (host):
Bridges to cooler climates. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
To cope with climate change, many plants and animals will need to migrate to cooler areas. But Georgia Tech ecologist Jenny McGuire explains that species may be trapped.
JENNY McGUIRE (Georgia Institute of Technology):
So things like agricultural fields or urban areas can really provide a barrier to a lot of plants and animals moving across the landscape.
HIRSHON:
In fact, in the eastern United States, only 2% of the land is connected enough to allow species migration. The work points to the need for corridors to connect today’s wilderness islands.
MCGUIRE:
By really thinking hard and really looking at how climates are going to change into the future, we can come up with smart strategies for when and where to build these sorts of corridors.
HIRSHON:
The work appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.
Story by Bob Hirshon