And according to the model, it can do so in two ways.First, extremely hot years increase physiological stress on meerkats because meerkats need to hide from the extreme heat.They do not have enough time to search for food and extreme heat may also be associated with very low rainfall, and therefore drought, so little food availability.That stress increases the probability that an endemic disease will turn into an outbreak that can completely wipe out meerkat populations….with the extinction risk for local groups predicted to double over the next dozen years.And the other way is that climate change also sort of destabilizes local groups and makes male meerkats much more mobile.Meerkats live in social groups from which males normally disperse to find mates.And when it’s warmer, males are much more likely to hit the road.And with that they carry disease, they carry tuberculosis with them, and by moving around too much they spread disease between meerkat groups which again increases the chances or the risks of severe outbreaks.And Paniw says it’s not merely meerkats that should be concerned about the climate.This finding is particularly interesting and important because tuberculosis is a very widespread disease which affects many species including livestock that is quite important for humans.Yet another way that climate change could land us all in hot water.
