![]() ![]() The aim of Planet Zoo was to make the world’s most authentic and detailed zoo and to invite players on a globe-trotting journey as they learn and build every facet of running a socially responsible zoo. As you begin building your zoo, it’s immediately clear that every choice has a real impact on the welfare of your animals, the character and structure of your connected zoos, and your visitors’ satisfaction. Billed as “the ultimate zoo builder,” it lives up to the name. If you’re unfamiliar, Planet Zoo is a zoo-building simulation game developed by Frontier Developments. When I got the opportunity to play the Planet Zoo beta, of course, I had to check it out. So, when Planet Zoo was announced I was ecstatic. This study received logistical support from ICMBio.I have been a big fan of other Frontier simulation games for a while now, with titles like Planet Coaster and Jurassic World Evolution. The study was funded by CAPES, the National Geographic Society, Horodas Family Foundation for Conservation Research, The Explorers Club, Alongside Wildlife Foundation, and the Hellman Foundation. The study is co-authored by Rahel Sollmann, Rocha's former advisor at UC Davis who is now at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany. The authors say that should be considered when assessing the potential climate-change effects on these species. The results indicate that if climate-driven savannization causes species to lose access to their preferred habitat, it will reduce the ability of even protected areas to safeguard wildlife. That's true even for species considered 'generalists,' which use both habitats. "Most Amazon species, when they can choose between good forests and good savanna, they choose the forest. "Unfortunately, there are more losers than winners," said Rocha, who is currently an assistant professor at Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma. Riparian forests, which line the wet edges of rivers and streams, helped buffer the effects of savannization to some extent. ![]() Rocha notes that the models were based on pristine - not degraded - savanna, so the negative effects of savannization among animals will likely be even stronger. The results showed that only a few species preferred savanna habitat. They then looked for differences among species known to use mostly rainforest, savanna, or both habitats. Using statistical models, they quantified how 31 species were affected by savanna habitat. But the study's authors wanted to better understand how land-based mammals are expected to fare - especially those who use both forest and savanna habitats when they have access to both.įor the study, the researchers conducted camera trap surveys of land-based mammals in four protected areas of the southern Brazilian Amazon, which is a mixture of rainforest and natural Cerrado, or savanna. Local deforestation and global climate changes in temperature and precipitation favor this conversion along the southern and eastern edges of the Brazilian Amazon.Īrboreal species like monkeys clearly will be impacted by such changes. ![]() But "savannization" here refers to when lush rainforest gives way to a drier, open landscape that resembles savanna but is actually degraded forest. Pristine savanna is a unique biome that supports a diverse array of life. These species are more susceptible than we realized, and even protected areas can't protect them as much as we thought." We cannot stop this just by law enforcement, for example. It's not just local it's a global phenomenon. "The Amazon's biodiversity is very susceptible to climate change effects. "We're losing Amazon forest as we speak," said lead author Daniel Rocha, who conducted the research as a doctoral student in the UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology. It also illustrates how species and lands protected through local conservation efforts are not immune to global climate change. The study found that even animals that use both forest and savanna habitats, such as pumas and giant armadillos, are vulnerable to such changes. ![]()
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