"You can always find unique explanations or stories about why things happen to certain animals," Liow said. "What we're seeing here is that sleep-or-hide related traits are extra characteristics that could help predict extinction risk." Conservation biologist Bill Toone was not surprised by the study's results. "These animals are spending a lot of time in very insulated and protected areas," said Toone, executive director of EcoLife Foundation, a conservation group in San Diego. "Someone behind a cement wall would survive better than someone standing in the road when a big truck came by." But, he said, identifying a group of animals that is especially good at surviving environmental change is an important finding. To him, the study also points to a scary future -- full of animals that spend lots of time underground. "I see a world with far less diversity and probably more pest-level species," Toone said. "When I think sleep-or-hide, my mind goes to gophers and rats." Related Links: |
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