Once in those early years he'd wakened in a barren wood and lay listening to flocks of migratory birds overhead in that bitter dark. Their half muted crankings miles above where they circled the earth as senselessly as insects trooping the rim of a bowl. He wished them godspeed till they were gone. He never heard them again.
—Cormac McCarthy, The Road (2006)
Which living species make it through the years after Zero Hour is an issue for individual authors to resolve, but certain tendencies can be pointed out. The fires of Zero Hour and later overhunting when human starvation sets in will do terrific damage to the global ecology. Factors such as the spread of disease and the collapse of local food supplies will also push species to the brink. As a rule of thumb in the DAYLIGHT scenario, nearly all species noted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable will completely vanish. Solar instability merely speeds up the process.
Mass extinction is not entirely about dying out, however. Certain species that prove more adaptable than others will fill the void left by the disappearance of others. Coyotes, rats, and cockroaches should do well. Even certain "invader" species, introduced by accident in the years of global transportation and commerce, will rise to the occasion.
Plants are subject to the rules of rise and fall, too. Ailanthus trees, kudzu, and purple loosestrife can presently be found across North America, which is not their native home, while Dutch elm disease and chestnut blight (brought in from Asia) have devastated regional forests. Similar major changes in the natural order can be expected in the chaotic years after Zero Hour. Global warming is already suspected in helping wood-boring beetles destroy woodlands wholesale in Alaska.
The effect on ocean life is more difficult to predict. It is known that coral reefs, for instance, are killed by warming waters. It is possible that in previous periods of warming, coral almost died out worldwide.
Extinction Event: (Wikipedia) Extinction-level events in the past and present.
Holocene Extinction Event: (Wikipedia) The current, long-term mass extinction that is accelerated by DAYLIGHT events.
The Red List: (IUCN) Website for the organization maintaining current lists of endangered and threatened species. (Use Search function to check for specific species.)
The Current Mass Extinction: (Dr. David Ulansey) Many links to information on endangered species and what puts them at risk.
Extinction Risk from Climate Change: (Wikipedia) Overview of extinction as a outgrowth of global warming.
Species Explosion: (Smithsonian Magazine) Climate change and evolution, with wildlife's current responses to warming.
Lessons to be Learned: (Denver Post) The effects of global warming on bark beetles (and the forests they destroy) in western North America. Without beetle suppression, many forests will die.
Least Concern (IUCN Category): (Wikipedia) Creatures that are most likely to survive extinction pressures at the present time. They are not necessarily likely to survive the aftermath of Zero Hour when hunted by starving humans with unlimited guns, ammunition, and traps. The larger the creature, the less likely it is to survive.
Coyotes: Victims of their own Success: (Canid News) Why we will never get rid of coyotes, and why trying makes it worse.
Invasive Species: (Wikipedia) Brief overview of the problem.
National Invasive Species Information Center: (USDA) The once-foreign creatures that thrive in North America and push out other species.
Invasive.org: More on foreign species that might spread in the post-Zero Hour world without ways to keep them in check.
The How and Why of Migration: (Mental Floss) Magnetite particles in animals' brains help them migrate, but hunger often determines whether migration occurs.
Animals that use magnetic fields to migrate: (NOVA/PBS) Details on animal species that migrate using magnetic fields. While the article points out that many migratory species might survive magnetic field changes, this might be questionable if magnetic fields fluctuate wildly over many years, and in combination with other pressures after Zero Hour this could weaken their chances.
Do Birds Use Magnetic Fields to Plan Migration Routes?: (National Geographic) Migratory birds plan feeding stops in this manner, because being fat helps them fly better.
"Magnetic Map" Found to Guide Animal Migration: (National Geographic) Loggerhead turtles use Earth's magnetic field when migrating (as do hammerhead sharks).
Mosquitoes adapt quickly to climate change: (Boston Globe) One study suggesting that mosquitoes are already getting used to warmer weather. Mosquito-control programs (such as spraying and emptying small pools) would be halted by events after Zero Hour.
Climate Change and Mosquito-Borne Disease (Environmental Health Perspectives): A study pointing out that human activities affect the spread of mosquito-borne diseases more than mere global warming. However, it also suggests that mosquitoes adapt to almost any climate.
Last updated 06/04/2010
