Climate change is causing some animals' habitats to expand northward

The press service of the Russian Academy of Sciences' expedition "Clean Arctic - Vostok 77" reported that the warming of the Arctic has led to the expansion of the habitats of snakes, gray herons and some species of spiders.

“We collect data from local residents who have been involved in the work of observation groups for a long time, or as journalists have already called them, ‘scientific partisans’, whose task is to send photos or videos of exotic animals in their area. We have already received information from the Yamal Peninsula, Yakutia, Khanty-Mansiysk Territory and Taimyr, where they have observed the habitats of the gray heron, as well as some species of spiders, and the common European viper (Vipera berus),” Oksana Tolstykh, the scientific secretary of the expedition, told TASS.

According to her, of course, there can be no talk of a mass migration of animals from the central region to the Arctic, but warming zones are forming and attracting animals to explore previously cold lands. For example, the heron in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and Yakutia has penetrated far to the north, but its new habitat is two narrow strips.

According to Sergey Rybakov, Director General of the Nature Fund, in addition, the forest boundaries are gradually expanding to the north due to climate change, and deciduous trees are gradually replacing conifers. In general, the ecosystem, flora and fauna are undergoing transformations.

“These changes – the emergence of non-traditional plants, insects and animals – will affect human life in these areas, as will changes in weather conditions, which will clearly affect the well-being and health of the population. It is important to understand this and prepare for such changes. In practice, it is necessary to adapt to the consequences of climate change from now on, and take care of the common future,” he says.