Climate change is happening and it is happening at a faster pace than ever before. Australia and its wildlife are very much affected by it like in the Great Barrier Reef. However, some of its endangered species are adapting to it.
Australia and its ecosystem and wildlife are being affected by climate change first hand. The Great Barrier Reef is the best example for it. Australia's wildlife like the plants and animals are adapting to what is happening in their environment. The genes and DNA of the animals and plants are adapting to the drier and hotter environment. The natural selection has favored those genes that help the animals adapt well to their environment, Phys.org reported.
The genetic changes are somehow complex but they are enough to manage and make the animals and plant tolerant of their surroundings. Also, the genes are not natural and scientists call them "plastic". They are only temporary as to help the animals and plants adapt. One example is the vinegar flies on the east coast of Australia. The vinegar flies have adapted to the climate change and their tropical DNA is more abundant than their temperate ones, Conversation stated.
Additionally, brown butterflies in southern Australia has adapted plastically. The female butterflies are maturing 1.6 days faster than the last decade. It is due to the hotter temperature, it makes their growth and development faster. Moreover, birds in Australia in the temperate places have become smaller. It has always been the birds in the tropical areas that are smaller but due to the climate change, it has switched.
The resiliency of the flora and fauna in Australia and other parts of the world is indeed amazing. Not all types of animals and plants in Australia's wildlife adapt that fast or show its changes in DNA just like the eucalypts. However, they do, in some way show that they can adapt too and will eventually adapt if they ever needed to.
