While the extensive media coverage of the tragic events in Orlando overshadowed news programming last week, the Bramble Cay melomy also made headlines. At first glance, the rodents appear to be an unremarkable species living on a tiny, unremarkable island off the coast of Australia. Sadly, they're newsworthy because a recent study found them to be extinct. Furthermore, that same study blamed human-induced sea level rise for their extinction, giving them the unfortunate distinction as the first mammal species to go extinct because of climate change.

Bramble Cay is extremely susceptible to storm surges. The small coral island at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef is just nine feet above sea level at its tallest point. Over the past decade, the island has suffered from frequent and extreme storm surges that flood most of the island because of increasing sea levels. The sparse vegetation on the island is sensitive to saltwater and 97 percent of the plant cover on the island has died since 2004. Without plants to eat, the only mammal species native to the Great Barrier Reef gradually starved. The researchers also considered other factors in the species extinction, namely disturbance of the rodents' burrows and damage to vegetation by nesting sea turtles. The report also acknowledged that hunting by fishermen and nearby natives from Papua New Guinea may have contributed to the species decline, but that it was sea level rise that ultimately doomed the small mammal.

The extinction of the Bramble Cay melomy's emphasizes the impact our actions can have on other species. Limiting our carbon footprint is essential if we wish to prevent more species from going extinct. We have the choice to either continue our habits and push even more species towards extinction, or we can change our behaviors in an effort to preserve the incredible diversity we have on this planet.