Climate change is one of the harsh realities of the 21st century. The Earth is warming fast; climate-driven calamities are becoming common; extreme weather patterns are threatening lives, livelihoods, food and water security.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2025 was one of the three hottest years on record, continuing the streak of exceptionally sweltering global temperatures.
When the planet warms to its unprecedented levels, the inhabitants of Earth, including fauna and flora biodiversity, bear the brunt of global warming.
Conventional ecological theory suggests that severity of climate change should speed up ecological “reshuffling” as species migrate to survive and new species colonize their habitats.
Rising temperatures and shifting climate zones also accelerate “species turnover”, a change in composition in a particular area over time and across space.
Conventionally, the turnover rate should be high given the intensity and frequency of the climate crisis. But, nature has defied and fallen short in terms of reshuffling.
A research study conducted by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), published in Nature Communications, highlights this uncommon phenomenon.
An analysis of a century’s worth of global biodiversity data reveals that since the 1970s the turnover rates have declined by approximately one-third.
Professor Axel Rossberg, a co-author at Queen Mary University of London, said: “We were surprised how strong the effect is. Turnover rates typically declined by one third.”
Researchers attribute this event “grinding to a halt,” where nature is slowing down as climate change gains pace.
Dr. Emmanuel Nwankwo, the study’s lead author, said, “Nature functions like a self-repairing engine, constantly swapping out old parts for new ones. But we found this engine is now grinding to a halt.”
Global warming is not the only culprit
According to findings, rising temperatures alone are not driving the “turnover paradox.” In fact, “Multiple Attractors” are in play to drive this shift.
Ecosystems are not just victims of climate. There are internal biological interactions, prompting species to swap places and challenging the domination of single species.
The recent research also validated the theory of multiple attractors predicted by theoretical physicist Guy Bunin in 2017.
The current slowdown shows that the internal engine is breaking down.
Human impact
As per researchers observations, the loss of regional biodiversity is also slowing down the turnover. For an ecosystem to replace an “old part” with a “new one,” a nearby population of different species must be ready to move in.
Unfortunately, human-driven habitat destruction has depleted these regional pools.
With fewer “colonizers” available, the cycle of replacement is failing.
Dr. Nwankwo said, “In other research we are seeing clear indications that human impacts cause the slowing of turnover. It is worrying.”
