Climate change affects species distribution
Here I will look at the key take away points from this modelling project.
- Even though species did not spread further across South Africa to areas they were never recorded at. The spots they were previously recorded at became more suitable for them
- Across all climate scenarios there was an overall tendency to spread along the coast of KwaZulu-Natal. This is probably due to the humid and hot conditions in this area, perfect for insects
- The species occurrence predictions were mostly made in the hot arid steppe in the north of South Africa in Limpopo and in the warm temperate humid regions along the east coast.
- One could thus assume that as climate changes, these areas will become more pronounced and may even expand across South Africa more inland, replacing some of the warm temperate dry winter areas.
