ortland, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity filed petitions Tuesday to protect four mountaintop species, from Hawaii to New Hampshire, that are threatened by climate change, including the ‘i‘iwi, a Hawaiian songbird; the white-tailed ptarmigan, a grouse-like bird of the Rocky Mountains; Bicknell’s thrush, a northeastern U.S. songbird; and the San Bernardino flying squirrel of Southern California. All four are limited to high-elevation mountaintops, where a shifting climate threatens to eliminate their habitat.

“Climate change will have disproportionate impacts on species that live at high elevations,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species program director at the Center. “These four species are literally going to be pushed off the top of the mountain.”

Mountaintop species are particularly vulnerable to climate change because as the climate warms, they have nowhere to go. The ‘i‘iwi was once widespread throughout the Hawaiian Islands, but is now restricted to high-elevation areas on the Big Island and Maui because of the spread of avian pox and malaria by mosquitoes moving uphill. Bicknell’s thrush is jeopardized by the loss of its native high-elevation forests due to warming, as well as acid-rain damage to red spruce. With its extensive adaptations to cold, snowy climates, the ptarmigan is threatened by warmer winter temperatures and forests that will creep uphill and eliminate its alpine habitat. The San Bernardino flying squirrel is thought to have already disappeared from one of the two mountain ranges where it lives; the remaining isolated population is threatened by the upward movement of its forest habitat and increasing drought that threatens its food supply.

“The plight of these four species shows that global warming is causing widespread harm, here and now, across the United States,” said Shaye Wolf, a Center biologist. “If we don’t rapidly reduce greenhouse gas pollution, scientists predict that one third of the world’s species will be condemned to extinction by 2050.”

Changes in climate are already apparent in many mountainous areas. Studies from the western U.S., for example, have documented reduced snowpack and earlier spring runoff. These changes will mean less and warmer water in the summer months in many areas, with impacts to both people and wildlife. The Center’s scientific petitions request that all four species be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Background on the species

‘I‘iwi: With its fiery-red body, the scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper is one of the most recognizable birds of Hawaii. The spread of avian malaria and pox has limited its range to high areas where it’s too cool for mosquitoes to deliver the diseases. Climate change is pushing colder temperatures farther and farther upslope.

Bicknell’s thrush: This thrush breeds only at higher elevations in the northeast United States and eastern Canada and winters on a handful of islands in the Caribbean, primarily the Dominican Republic. As the climate warms, the range of hardwoods appears to be rapidly moving up in elevation, supplanting the coniferous trees the thrush depends on for nesting.

White-tailed ptarmigan: The smallest bird in the grouse family, the white-tailed ptarmigan lives on alpine mountaintops throughout its entire life and is adapted to thrive in a frigid climate, from its snowshoe-like talons to its metabolic ability to gain body mass in harsh winters. As the climate warms, these adaptations could spell the bird’s doom.

San Bernardino flying squirrel: Distinguished by the parachute-like panels of skin that stretch from wrist to ankle, allowing it to glide for 300 feet or more between trees, this flying squirrel lives year-round in high-elevation Southern California conifer forests. As temperatures warm, its habitat is moving upslope; drought threatens its truffle fungus food, which depends on wet, cool conditions.

Contact Info: Noah Greenwald, (503) 484-7495

Website : Center for Biological Diversity