Climate change appears to have driven to extinction an Australian Great Barrier Reef rodent, according to a new study, which suggests the species may be the first mammal lost to global phenomenon. Extensive searches for the Bramble Cay melomys, a small rat-liked animal, have failed to find a single specimen from its only known habitat on a sandy island in far northern Australia. Researchers said the key factor behind the extinction was "almost certainly" ocean inundation of the low-lying cay, likely on several occasions, over the last decade which resulted in dramatic habitat loss.

Likely first victim of climate change. (2016, June 15). Manila Standard, p. B8.