TOPNEWS (Auckland, New Zealand) 17 October 13 New Zealand's Tuatara to be tested for Survival in Changing Climate (Neelesh Raghuwanshi)
Tuataras are the only reptile of their kind that has stayed alive from the age of dinosaur. These are from New Zealand. Now, these reptiles are being used by scientists to test survival in climate change.
The scientists from Australia and New Zealand have developed `rigorous quantitative framework'. This framework will help them in deciding whether to change the place of animals which are in danger of extinction by climate change or not.
The researchers say, "The major problem with climate change is not so much that climate is changing, but that it is changing faster than species can move or adapt".
Tuataras were used as a case study for the research. This research was published on Thursday in the journal PLOS ONE.
Tuatara became restricted to about 30 islands off the northeast of the North Island.
The sex of a tuatara can be determined by temperature at which the reptile carries out incubation. Males are born at higher temperature, whereas females are born at lower temperature.
The population from North Brother Island in Cook Strait is indicating that males constitute a major portion of population there.
Other animals being thought for relocation are: seriously endangered western swamp tortoise and tiny mountain pygmy possum of Australia.
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