Climate change could lead to a migration of poisonous animals to cities

Climate change is already causing disruptions that affect millions of people. It generated an increase in extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and floods, among others. But it also impacts the biodiversity of Earth's species, and can have indirect effects on human health and other ecosystems. Such is the case with the likelihood of changes in the distribution of poisonous animals, such as snakes and scorpions.

“The change in global temperatures and other climatic factors could cause accidents due to snake bites and other poisonous animals in places where there were none before,” Argentine scientist Pablo Ariel Martínez, who with colleagues from Costa Rica and Spain, said in a dialogue with Infobae, Argentine scientist Pablo Ariel Martínez, who with colleagues from Costa Rica and Spain has just publish a paper in the specialized journal Global Change Biology .

Dr. Martínez, who works at the Laboratory for Integrative Research in Biodiversity at the Federal University of Sergipe, in Brazil and at the BioMA Laboratory of the Rey Juan Carlos University, in Móstoles, Spain, said that sometimes there is an extremely negative perception of poisonous animals from the human gaze. However, they play a role in ecosystems by contributing to the control of other species such as rodents. In addition, they are a source of substances that can be used for the treatment of various human diseases.

In the work that Martínez published with José Maria Gutiérrez, Miguel Ángel Olalla-Tárraga and Talita Ferreira Amado wrote that “animal poisons are a rich, and largely unexplored, source of novel molecules that could be major compounds for the development of new drugs and diagnostic reagents for a variety of diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, cancer, thrombosis, hypertension, heart failure and attack cerebrovascular”.

But populations of poisonous animal species could be affected by the impact of the climate crisis. “Many species of poisonous animals can decrease their range or even become extinct. If that happens, species that are very important for pest control would be lost, such as rodents, which are one of the main foods of many snakes,” Martinez said.

Another consequence of the potential loss of populations of these animals is that humanity “could lose valuable resources such as poisons, and thus a great potential for the development of the most diverse drugs,” he stressed. “But not all species will be adversely affected by climate change, many will be able to increase their range. That is, there would be more individuals of poisonous animals in areas where there were none, there could be more in areas where they already lived or they could migrate from areas,” he said.

In the study, the authors highlight the case of the African snake Bitis rhinoceros, which is adapted to arid environments in Africa. Based on mathematical models, they manage to predict that in the future there will be large regions with climatic conditions suitable for the survival of this species: it will expand its distribution. This change could entail new challenges for public health because the species could reach countries such as Guinea-Bissau, Niger or Senegal, where it is currently not present or is in very low density.

More poisonous species could adapt to the urban environment. In fact, this situation has already occurred with the scorpions of the genus Tityus in South America, where various species have adapted to the urban environment and cause thousands of accidents in girls and boys living there. “In the case of the scorpion Tityus serrulatus, it adapted very well to the urban areas of Sao Paulo, Brazil. There are also previous studies by colleagues about the scorpion Tityus carrilloi, which is found in Argentina, where it adapted to living in urban environments, among rubble, garbage dumps and dark places inside homes,” Martínez said.

The scorpion Tityus carrilloi is found from Central to Northern Argentina and specimens have also been found near Colonia, Uruguay. “When we talk about global change, it involves climate change and habitat modifications. The occupation of urban areas occurs because there is a degradation of their natural environment. Then some species, such as the scorpion Tityus carrilloi, find in urban environments a place to survive and reproduce. But most species do not adapt to urban environments,” clarified the Argentine biologist.

Meanwhile, co-author and Professor Gutiérrez commented in a statement: “The ongoing profound climate change and the consequent alterations in ecosystems will have an effect that we do not yet know about the incidence of poisoning by bites and stings of poisonous animals, an essential issue for global public health.”

Faced with this possibility, the researchers stressed that humanity can act now so that more catastrophes do not happen in the future. “Reducing CO2 emissions and deforestation will undoubtedly be key to preventing species loss, as well as reducing the impact of zoonoses and harmful human interactions with poisonous species,” they said.

They also proposed that there should be greater interdisciplinarity between people working in ecology, toxicology and public health, with a strong community participation component to be able to anticipate change and take appropriate preventive measures.

Humans and livestock animals often come into contact with poisonous species and suffer accidents that can result in serious injury or even death. Today it is estimated that between 1.8 and 2.7 million human cases of snakebite poisoning occur each year, resulting in between 81,000 and 138,000 fatalities and 400,000 people with permanent physical and psychological consequences. The greatest impact is already being made today in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

Because of their relevance to public health, snakebite poisonings have been included in the list of tropical diseases neglected by the World Health Organization. Scorpion sting poisoning is a major health problem in some regions of the world, causing 1.2 million cases and more than 3,000 deaths per year, and poisonings from spiders, other arthropods and marine organisms are also a medical hazard.

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