The review of 866 scientific studies is published in the latest journal Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.

    The review says that at least 70 species of frogs, mostly mountain-dwellers that have nowhere to go to escape the creeping heat, have gone extinct because of climate change.

    Besides, between 100 and 200 other cold-dependent animal species, such as penguins and polar bears, are in deep trouble, says the review.

    "We are finally seeing species going extinct," said the author of the study Camille Parmesan, University of Texas biologist. "Now we've got the evidence. It's here. This is not just biologists' intuition. It's what's happening."

    Parmesan reports seeing trends of animal populations moving northward, of species adapting slightly because of climate change, of plants blooming earlier, and of an increase in pests and parasites.

    In fact, such changes have been predicted for years by experts, but these fast moving adaptations still surprise biologists and ecologists as they are occurring so rapidly.

    Douglas Futuyma, professor of ecology and evolution at the State University of New York in Stony Brook, warned,¡°It is just hurtling toward us. Anyone who is 10 years old right now is going to be facing a very different and frightening world by the time they are 50 or 60."

    Parmesan says she is worries most about the cold-adapted species, such as emperor penguins that have dropped from 300 breeding pairs to just nine in the western Antarctic Peninsula, or polar bears, which are dropping in numbers and weight in the Arctic.

    (Agencies)