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Erasing El Niño's Imprint
Climate change may disrupt a predator-prey balance
The Scientist 2004, 18(8):31
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Human activities often disrupt the delicate balance between predators and prey, but an unusual example has come to light among the equatorial rainforests of Indonesia. Dipterocarp, the economically important canopy trees that account for 70% of the region's biomass, are vanishing. Indeed, protected lowland trees in the Kalimantan region declined by more than 56% over a period of 15 years.[1]
Besides rampant logging, climate change may be responsible, by causing a disturbance of the El Niño southern ocean oscillation, which dipterocarp species have exploited in their battle with seed and fruit predators.
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