The Sixth Extinction Chapter 8 - Elyonni Tordesillas

       In chapter 8, Kolbert meets with a scientist named Miles Silman, a professor at Wake Forest University. He is also a forest ecologist, and studies the tropical ecosystems of South America. In the chapter he states "Trees are stunning...They are very beautiful. It's true they take a little more appreciation. You walk into a forest, and the first thing you notice is, 'That's a big tree'..." This introduces the idea that trees are one of the worlds most admirable things. Kolbert then moves on to talking about the issue of global warming. While global warming is often interpreted as being most dangerous for animals in cold climates, global warming poses an equally severe threat to tropical life forms. Why are tropical climates so important to biodiversity? One theory suggests that, in tropical areas, “the evolutionary clock ticks faster” which means, animals reproduce faster, leading to more genetic mutations, which leads to more varieties of species. Another theory argues that there’s more biodiversity in tropical climates because tropical climates have relatively low temperature fluctuation, and, therefore, different areas (the tops of trees, the bases of trees, etc.) can only harbor life with very specific thermal tolerances. In the forests of Peru, Silman shows Kolbert some of the different species of trees that he has discovered in the last few years. He takes Kolbert to some of the different “levels” of the forest, each with its own unique temperature, humidity, and, life forms. At different tree plots, Kolbert notices that the increasing temperature of the forest are causing plants and animals to travel to higher altitudes. Different species adapt to the changing climate with different degrees of success. Some migrate successfully, while others don’t. Eventually, plants and animals will have nowhere to go, and they will be unable to find the climates they need.