By Matt Wood
Computer models developed by the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory predict that hotter, drier conditions in North America will limit the growth of a fungus that normally curbs the spread of the spongy moth, an invasive species that has caused millions of dollars in damage to forests.
The research, published in Nature Climate Change, emphasizes the importance of accounting for multiple organisms and their interactions when predicting the potential impacts of climate change, as warmer temperatures cause unexpected domino effects in ecosystems.
“The vast majority of previous climate change studies look at individual organisms, but a small amount of climate change can have a big effect when you compound it across multiple species,” said Greg Dwyer, Professor of Ecology and Evolution at UChicago and senior author of the new study. “So, computer models are crucial for understanding the effects of climate change on species interactions.”