Following a study on tropical species in Costa Rica and the impact of climate change on them, a team of American scientists reached the conclusion that these species are facing extinction.

Animals and plants from less tolerable habitats are threatened by climate change and it seems that the process began nearly a century ago. “The only difference is that this has probably happened in our lifetime. It's the speed with which these changes are taking place that gives one pause," said James L. Patton, a biologist at UC Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.

In a report published Friday in the journal Science, Patton, Craig Moritz, director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC Berkeley, and their colleagues explain how they examined 28 species of mammals studied by the preeminent ornithologist and naturalist Joseph Grinnell starting 1914. They enclosed some of Grinnell's sites and afterward drew a comparison between the findings.

The research team’s report is beyond compare. The impact of climate change on sensitive species is worse than ever. Since Grinnell conducted the study, Yosemite National Park and nearby mountains’ monthly average minimum temperatures have increased an estimated 3 degrees Celsius, researchers noted. And all species living there bear the consequences.

According to Robert Colwell, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, animals and plants seeking escape from climate change’s effects will search for new habitats in higher locations, where temperatures are lower. At the same time, drought and forest fire phenomenon will increase and also affect the species which are already in danger.