Impact of climate crisis on mammals largely unknown as scientists sound alarm over huge data gap

Scientists desperate to put the brakes on the biodiversity crisis need broader field-studies to help us understand our impact on the world, writes Harry Cockburn

As temperatures get warmer, cues to wake up after a long winter may come earlier, but food may not be available once the animals wake up (Getty)

There are around 6,400 known species of mammal living across our planet in every kind of landscape and habitat, but scientists have warned that our uneven knowledge of many animals is leaving them vulnerable as the climate crisis worsens.

Nearly 25 per cent of all mammal species are already threatened with extinction, and the risk is exacerbated by climates changing around the world.

However, the myriad ways in which the changes are currently impacting animals, and how they will develop into the future, are highly complex topics, and scientists are sounding the alarm bell over our lack of data and limited knowledge of these interacting systems.