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Climate change 'driving spread of crop pests
Climate change 'driving spread of crop pests
Researchers from the universities of Exeter and Oxford have found crop pests are moving at an average of two miles (3km) a year.
The team said they were heading towards the north and south poles, and were establishing in areas that were once too cold for them to live in.
The research is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Currently, it is estimated that between 10% and 16% of the world's crops are lost to disease outbreaks. The researchers warn that rising global temperatures could make the problem worse.
...
"We detect a shift in their distribution away form the equator and towards the poles," explained Dr Bebber,
The researchers believe that the global trade in crops is mainly responsible for the movement of pests and pathogens from country to country.
However, the organisms can only take hold in new areas if the conditions are suitable, and the researchers believe that warming temperatures have enabled the creature to survive at higher latitudes.
Dr Bebber said: "The most convincing hypothesis is that global warming has caused this shift.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23899019
Researchers from the universities of Exeter and Oxford have found crop pests are moving at an average of two miles (3km) a year.
The team said they were heading towards the north and south poles, and were establishing in areas that were once too cold for them to live in.
The research is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Currently, it is estimated that between 10% and 16% of the world's crops are lost to disease outbreaks. The researchers warn that rising global temperatures could make the problem worse.
...
"We detect a shift in their distribution away form the equator and towards the poles," explained Dr Bebber,
The researchers believe that the global trade in crops is mainly responsible for the movement of pests and pathogens from country to country.
However, the organisms can only take hold in new areas if the conditions are suitable, and the researchers believe that warming temperatures have enabled the creature to survive at higher latitudes.
Dr Bebber said: "The most convincing hypothesis is that global warming has caused this shift.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23899019
