Chum salmon may be the harbingers of this transformation. “The Earth—as a planet, as an ecosystem—everything is going to adapt. There's no way around it,” says Rocha.

Not even a lucky worm goes on forever. One morning, while the cat is napping, a robin hops into the garden and makes a meal of Lum. His is a dignified death, though; no lingering for old Lum.