Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Department of Biology, Amherst College, Amherst, MA, USA.
Curr Biol. 2024 Nov 18;34(22):R1115-R1120. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.011.
Hurricanes are natural phenomena, but anthropogenic climate change will cause hurricanes to be stronger and more frequent in the future. It has long been known that hurricanes impact plants and animals, but only recently has the impact on biodiversity been mapped globally, showing that species at risk of extinction due to hurricanes are largely restricted to tropical islands. Tropical islands harbor many plants and animals found nowhere else, many of which are currently threatened, and tropical islands have already suffered a disproportionate number of species extinctions due to human activity and introductions of non-native species. The big question is whether species on tropical islands are adapted to hurricane disturbance and will be able to cope with stronger and more frequent storms, or whether tropical islands will see a wave of hurricane-induced extinctions in the future. Here, we discuss this question and how hurricanes will reshuffle interactions between species - such as those between nectarivorous birds and their flowers - and will alter evolutionary trajectories for coadapted species. Moreover, we discuss the role of life history and other taxa-specific traits, such as diet preferences and dispersal ability, both to survive the direct and indirect impact of hurricanes and to recolonize islands when local populations have been eliminated. We also highlight how topographic complexity and island area may buffer against hurricanes; thus, biodiversity on small and low-lying islands should be more impacted than biodiversity on large and mountainous islands. We end by discussing conservation efforts to diminish the detrimental ecological and evolutionary effects of stronger and more frequent hurricanes on tropical islands.
飓风是自然现象，但人为气候变化将导致未来飓风更强烈、更频繁。长期以来，人们一直知道飓风会对动植物造成影响，但直到最近，全球范围内才对飓风对生物多样性的影响进行了绘制，结果表明，由于飓风而面临灭绝风险的物种主要局限于热带岛屿。热带岛屿拥有许多其他地方找不到的动植物，其中许多目前受到威胁，而且由于人类活动和引入非本地物种，热带岛屿已经遭受了不成比例的物种灭绝。最大的问题是热带岛屿上的物种是否适应飓风的干扰，以及它们是否能够应对更强、更频繁的风暴，或者热带岛屿未来是否会出现一波由飓风引发的物种灭绝。在这里，我们讨论了这个问题，以及飓风将如何重新洗牌物种之间的相互作用，例如食蜜鸟类和它们的花朵之间的相互作用，并将改变共同适应物种的进化轨迹。此外，我们还讨论了生活史和其他特定于类群的特征（如饮食偏好和扩散能力）的作用，这些特征既可以在飓风的直接和间接影响下生存，也可以在当地种群被消灭时重新在岛屿上定居。我们还强调了地形复杂性和岛屿面积如何缓冲飓风的影响；因此，小岛屿和低海拔岛屿的生物多样性应该比大岛屿和多山岛屿的生物多样性受到更大的影响。最后，我们讨论了保护工作，以减少更强、更频繁的飓风对热带岛屿的生态和进化的不利影响。
