The Effect of Climate Change on the Bats of the Brazilian Cerrado

Covering more than 2 million square kilometers and nearly a quarter of Brazil, the tropical ecoregion known as the Cerrado biome is the most biologically diverse savannah in the world—home to more than 250 species of mammals, including many bats. In this study, researchers combined more than 13,000 GBIF-mediated records with present and future climate data to model distributions for 116 bats species in the Cerrado. Their results suggest that unless the bats can move to new suitable areas, climate change will cause 36 different species to lose more than 80 per cent of their suitable habitat. If, on the other hand, the bats of the Cerrado migrate into newly suitable areas, as many as two thirds of them will lose less than 20 per cent. Overall, the models predict that future habitat shifts of 281 km, mainly in southeastern direction.