The Bramble Cay melomys, a rat-like mammal found on only one island in Australia, is extinct and scientists said climate change -- specifically sea level rise -- is to blame.

The extinction of this species is the first to be attributed to climate change. Scientists said the Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola or M. rubicola) has disappeared from its small island home on Bramble Cay in the eastern Torres Strait of the Great Barrier Reef only three meters above sea level. The rodent is referred to as Australia's most isolated mammal.

Like Us on Facebook

Researchers from Queensland's Department of Environment and Heritage Protection and the University of Queensland jointly reported that the species had indeed become extinct.

"Significantly, this probably represents the first recorded mammalian extinction due to anthropogenic climate change," they reported.

M. rubicola hasn't been seen since 2007 despite a search by a team of scientists and was feared extinct. Failed attempts to trap any in late 2014 led scientists to conclude the rodent, also called the mosaic-tailed rat, is likely extinct. There were several hundred of the rodents in 1978.

"The key factor responsible for the extirpation of this population was almost certainly ocean inundation of the low-lying cay, very likely on multiple occasions, during the last decade, causing dramatic habitat loss and perhaps also direct mortality of individuals," said Ian Gynther from Queensland's Department of Environment and Heritage Protection that reported on the extinction.

"For low-lying islands like Bramble Cay, the destructive effects of extreme water levels resulting from severe meteorological events are compounded by the impacts from anthropogenic climate change-driven sea-level rise."

The researchers noted that since 1998, the part of the island above high tide has shrunk to 2.5 hectares from 4 hectares. That means the rodents have lost about 97 percent of their habitat while the vegetation they eat has also been engulfed by the waves.

Climate scientists said sea level globally has risen by almost 20 centimeters or 8 inches between 1901 and 2010, a rate unheard of in the last 6,000 years. In the Torres Strait, the sea level has risen at almost twice the global average rate between 1993 and 2014.

"We knew something had to be first, but this is still stunning news," said Lee Hannah, a senior scientist for climate change biology with Conservation International.

Hannah has published research suggesting one in five species may be at risk from climate change. And species on small islands and mountains are most threatened since they can't escape.

"This species could have been saved," he lamented of M.rubicola.

TagsBramble Cay melomys, Australia, Climate Change, Queensland's Department of Environment and Heritage Protectio