Climate change problematic it has devastating effects on many factors that condition life on Earth, including genetic diversity. We know very well that global temperatures are increasing due to the increase in gas emissions from industry and transportation worldwide.
Said increase in the temperature of the planet has certain risks in the variables that condition the different ecosystems of our planet. Variables such as temperature, the acidity of the lakes, the scarcity of fresh water and the fragmentation of habitats are what they decrease biodiversity.
How genetic diversity affects adaptation to climate change
In natural and anthropized ecosystems, all the mechanisms that make elements work well are interrelated. Broadly speaking, all that makes ecosystems function as we know them today are the chains and relationships between living beings and inert beings.
In order to adapt to the devastating and negative effects of climate change, a great genetic diversity is required that allows generate mutations in DNA to be able to endure and survive the changes in the environment. As populations of certain species of animals and plants decline, they become more vulnerable to environmental conditions. For example, plant species that require low temperatures tend to change their range at higher altitudes as temperatures rise in lower areas due to climate change.
Therefore, both animal and plant species are more resistant and have an easier time adapting to climate change as greater population and genetic diversity have.
What about marmots in the Pyrenees?
In Spain, in the Pyrenees, live communities of marmots from the French Alps. These were reintroduced between 1948 and 1988 because they became extinct from the Pyrenees for more than 15.000 years.
A recent study shows that the genetic diversity of these marmots is quite lowTherefore, according to what I have said before, it will have great difficulties and will be a very vulnerable species before the effects of climate change. Already Spain is a country that, due to its climate, economy and geographical location, is very vulnerable to climate change.
Range of the alpine marmot
The study was carried out by researchers from the Center for Ecological Research and Forest Applications (CREAF-UAB) and the Laboratoire de Biométrie de Biologie Evolutive (LBBE) in Lyon (France). For this they have analyzed the DNA of the Pyrenean marmots through their hair.
When the reintroduction of this species was carried out in the Pyrenees, about 400 specimens were reintroduced that came from the French Alps. Despite the lack of planning and follow-up (since some of them did not know exactly where they came from), the reintroduction of the Alpine marmot in the Pyrenees it was a success because it quickly established and colonized almost the entire southern face of this mountain range.
Origin and consequences of low genetic diversity
Populations that were reintroduced had very little genetic diversity. This is a very important aspect in order to adapt to climate change and the new scenarios it poses. Usually, more than a third of reintroductions fail due to the lack of previous studies, to an inadequate subsequent follow-up or to a low genetic diversity.
The fact that a species has rich genetic diversity is important in general for the evolution of communities and the species itself, but it is more crucial when populations are small.
But why is their genetic diversity low? Well, like the populations of the Pyrenees have not exchanged genetic material, each town in the Pyrenees still closely resembles the original town in the Alps.
The only question that remains is whether time will be able to help the groundhog adapt to climate change or will it be yet another reintroduction failure. Our remaining hope is to reduce and halt the effects of climate change so that marmots and other threatened species have more time to adapt to the new scenarios that climate change will create.