As water levels rise and cities grow, this furry little Floridian may have nowhere to go » Yale Climate Connection

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Islands are home to species found nowhere else on Earth. As sea levels rise, many unique plants and animals may be lost forever.

Take the silver rice rat, a small furry animal from the Florida Keys. They live in coastal swamps and swamps, feeding on small creatures found at low tide.

Terry: “They can roam the exposed tidal areas and look for crabs and snails and things like that.”

But Paul Tiley of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says rising sea levels are flooding some of the rats' habitats.

So far, the animals have adapted successfully. Over the past two decades, they have shifted their habitat to higher ground at a rate faster than sea level rise.

But there are limits to how far they can go. The higher the altitude, the less land there is, some of which is developed.

Terry: “That's the idea of ​​coastal squeeze, where animals are squeezed between urban development and rising sea levels.”

Talley's research found that over the next few decades, the rice rat's habitat will shrink dramatically. If these animals cannot find enough suitable habitat at high altitudes, they may become extinct by the end of the century.

It's a reminder that rising sea levels will have a greater impact on low-lying islands and the unique species that live there.

Report source: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media