Climate Change and Evolution
The ecological consequences of global climate change are expected to be drastic although not much is known as to how individual species will react to these changes. Irrespective of the causes of climate change, whether anthropogenic or natural, it is imperative that we address these concerns, as they will have widespread impacts on the human species, both directly and indirectly through forcings on other species. The climate is not expected to shift evenly and the ways in which certain species adapt or migrate due to these changes could be erratic and unpredictable. The rate at which the earth’s climate is currently changing is unprecedented and has not been seen in the past 450,000 years. Although many species have simply migrated northward or vertically up mountainsides to escape warming habitats, others do not have this luxury or cannot migrate fast enough to survive. The earth’s temperature has risen by over one degree Fahrenheit over the past century, based on land and sea level measurements. The temperature is expected to continue rising at a faster pace over the next century, possibly increasing by as much as seven degrees Celsius. In comparison, the earth’s average global temperature was only twelve degrees cooler than it is now during the last great ice age. A vast majority of species now living do so within a narrow spectrum of temperature ranges and will not be able to adapt to a warming climate on such a large scale. If humans are the cause of a warming climate we will ultimately be responsible for the destruction of millions of species.
Indicator Species
Polar bears are one species that are currently feeling the effects of a warming climate. Over the past twenty years, NA...
... middle of paper ...
...phy:
Ian Stirling, Nicholas J. Lunn and John Iacozza, 1999. "Long-term trends in the population ecology of polar bears in western Hudson Bay in relation to climate change", Arctic 52(3):294-306. September 1999.
Markham, Adam and Malcolm, Jay. September 2000.
Speed kills: rates of climate change are threatening biodiversity.
http://www.woza.co.za/eco/news/sep00/speed12.htm
Antipredator Adaptations by Monarch Butterflies
Kim A. Pike
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/courses/en507/papers_1999/pike.htm
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Special Report
The Regional Impacts Of Climate Change: An Assessment Of Vulnerabilities
(Summery For Policy Makers.) 1995
http://www.ipcc.ch/pub/regional(E).pdf
Stevens, William K. 1999. The Change In The Weather: People, Weather and the Science of Climate. New York, New York. Delecorte Press.
For years, we have heard of the devastating effects of global warming and how the melting of the polar ice caps will cause severe climate changes. One animal that has suffered most from global warming is the polar bear. Global warming has caused the polar bear population to decrease due to the results of having to swim longer distances, loss of habitat, and lack of mates to reproduce offspring. Global warming has caused this species to become endangered and has some attention with social media. Global warming has caused much damage to the polar bear population due to the warming of their habitat.
Out of an Ice Age emerged one of our most majestic creatures in the world, the polar bear. From its brown bear ancestry, the predator evolved to be a master of a harsh and unwelcoming ice kingdom. Intelligent, adaptable and fierce, the polar bear learned how to survive in a place that offers few comforts to any creature. But now that very environment is in flux. And so is the polar bear’s fate (Nature).
Global warming has taken planet earth by storm. Over 1 million animal species have gone extinct, and many more are predicted to follow. In the past century, temperatures have increased 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit due to humans’ high outpouring of greenhouse gases. This change has resulted in rising sea levels, which leads to habitat loss and climate change. This affects not only animals, but human beings, as well. If we don’t start an effort to save this plant, who knows how long it will last. Earth is a Marvelous place that’s a privilege to call home; it’s about time we start treating it that way.
In recent decades, the global warming threat has captured the attention of the nation and the world. While the main focus began with concentrating on the effects this long-term natural crisis would have on the human population, select groups have worked to approach the topic in a manner that entails prevention in order to help other animal and plant species around the globe. One such organization is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has played a major role in the conservation of the polar bear species, one of the mammals most adversely affected by the recent climate changes. As more research has been conducted regarding the polar bears, scientific name Ursus Maritimus, the conclusions have been shocking. In 2008, the Department to the Interior listed the polar bear species as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 awarding it some protections mandated by the federal government (Wolfe). However, on January 5, 2011, Representative Donald Young proposed a bill in Congress in order to delist the polar bears as threatened, thus decreasing and even removing the conservation efforts that have been set in place over the past three years. The polar bear Species should remain listed under the Endangered Species Act because ice thickness has decreased 40 percent during the past 30 years thus reducing the polar bears’ critical environment, if current conditions continue the polar bear populations around the world may decrease by two thirds by mid century, and since the species has been protected under the Endangered Species Act the worldwide populations have experienced stabilization or growth in most circumstances.
On Thin Ice written by Susan McGrath explains the negative affects of global warming on polar bears. Green house gases being emitted into the atmosphere is causing the earth to become hotter. The ice that the polar bears live on continues to shrink because of rising temperatures. In 1979, there was approximately thirty percent more ice in the summer compared to now. Polar bears spend almost their entire life on the sea ice (McGrath). The only time that they go to land is to build maternal birthing dens. After the birth has occurred, the cub and mother need to make the swim back to the ice. Since the ice is melting, the polar bears swimming distance continues to grow. Polar bears are strong swimmers but these long swims can be fatal. A tracker on a mother polar bear showed that she and her cub had to swim 427 miles to reach the ice. The cub died during the swim (McGrath). The ice melting is also causing the polar bears to become skinnier. Polar bears losing weight is caused because of the long swims they have to make to reach the ice. Losing weight has a negative affect on their health. The health decline then causes polar bears to reproduce less and fewer of the cubs survive. Polar bears are no longer growing to be as big (McGrath). Since they are not as big, they cannot catch as much food. When males are hungry and malnourished they can turn into cannibals. They kill the cubs and sometimes females for food (McGrath). The question that arises is will polar bears be able to survive if temperatures continue to rise? Scientists believe that they would be able to survive in the short run but after a few years of not being able to live on the ice they would die. Polar bears dying will completely change the ecosystems that they live in ...
The shift in seasonal ice pack in the West Hudson Bay has changed polar bear behavior, reduced prey availability, lowered birth rate, and a positive effect on polar bear and human conflict. Polar bears require seals and other high fat animals for their survival in the arctic region. The decrease in ice packs also reduces prey abundance and increased bear mortality. Seasonal break up rate has increased and reduced seal availability within the Arctic region. The Lack of food has decreased female polar bear sexual reproductively as well as body weight. Finally, polar bears are encroaching onto human territory. Human safety is being threatened as bears go on land, instead of their usual habitat, to forage for food. Humans are forced to kill bears to protect themselves. Lastly, polar bear’s future is grim. Studies have predicted bears will lose a third of their habitat by 2100. Soon these polar bears will become extinct in the 6th global mass extinction. Humans must reevaluate their population output and seek ways to preserve the polar bears for future generations to
"The Consequences of Global WarmingOn Wildlife." Consequences of Global Warming. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. .
The EPA describes climate change as any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time (Climate Change: Basic Information). The concept of climate change is one too familiar to one of the top artic predators, the polar bear (Ursus maririmus). Many people are aware that due to climate change, polar bears are experiencing extreme habitat loss in the form of melting ice sheets in the polar region. The Arctic is becoming warmer at a high rate, and contractions in the extent of sea ice are currently changing the habitats of marine top-predators dependent on ice (Prop 1). However, what many people don’t know is that the melting
In many parts of the world, ecosystems’ temperatures begin to rise and fall to extreme levels making it very difficult for animals and plants to adapt in time to survive. Climate has never been stable here on Earth. Climate is an important environmental influence on ecosystems. Climate changes the impacts of climate change, and affects ecosystems in a variety of ways. For instance, warming could force species to migrate to higher latitudes or higher elevations where temperatures are more conducive to their survival. Similarly, as sea level rises, saltwater intrusion into a freshwater sys...
Thousands of species have become extinct over the last four decades as a result of changes in land use and as a result of global warming. Whether or not the millions of species can adapt and evolve to climate changes is debatable. As this brief overview will report, the human species is not adapting well to the changes. It must be remembered that increases in the levels of carbon dioxide are certainly responsible for the risk many species face, but so is the way land is used, e.g., rain forest destruction. There is a feedback loop wherein plant life and the climate are interdependent. Each affects the other. When forests are cut down, temperatures in that area will rise. Rising temperatures cause other plant life requiring cooler temperatures To die off.
It is an unquestioned fact that the climate is changing. There is abundant evidence that the world is becoming warmer and warmer. The temperature of the global land average temperature has increased by about 8.5 degrees centigrade from 1880 to 2012 (Karr, et al 406). The one or two degrees increase in temperature can cause dramatic and serious consequences to the earth as well as humans. More extreme weather occurs, such as heat waves and droughts. The Arctic Region is especially sensitive to global climate change. According to the data in recent decades, the temperature in the Arctic has increased by more than 2 degrees centigrade in the recent half century (Przybylak 316). Climate change has led to a series of environmental and ecological negative
I say this because of global warming. Global warming is making the world warmer and who is causing that? It is us humans, we are causing all the ice to melt. It says in the article that the polar bears that are on their own are losing weight at the same rate as the bears that are held in captivity, because the ice in the bears homes are either gone or to weak to hold them so they can't go out and catch seals or fish. Also this is important for the public to know because it brings attention to polar bears.
Climate change is one of the major issues surfacing on Earth over the past century. The earth’s temperature has increased over the years, leading to detrimental effects on the economic and life sources of people, especially that of agricultural production and livestock. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2014), defined climate change as a change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid late 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007) predicts that by 2100 the increase in global average surface temperature may be between 1.8° C and 4.0° C. With increases of 1.5° C to 2.5° C, approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species are expected to be at risk of extinction. Moreover, the IPCC (2007) purported that climate change has severe consequences for food security in developing countries.
The polar regions are most affected and vulnerable to the warming temperatures because the poles are covered in ice. The world’s ice sheets are melting faster than ever and temperatures in the Arctic region are rising twice as fast as anywhere else on Earth according to the NRDC. This will have a serious impact on people, wildlife and plants in that region. The National Climate Assessment has said that “By the year 2100, it 's estimated our oceans will be one to four feet higher, threatening coastal systems and low-lying areas, including entire island nations and the world 's largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Miami as well as Mumbai, Sydney, and Rio de Janeiro”. Polar bears are in great threat as the ice sheets melt because they use the ice to travel across the land and hunt. As the sea-ice platforms move further apart, the swimming conditions become more dangerous. The U.S Geological Survey done by the National Wildlife Federation predicts that by the year 2050, two thirds of all polar bears will disappear. Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the Adelie penguins in Antarctica and reported the numbers have fallen from 32,000 to only 11,000 over the last 30
Climate Change is any substantial change in climate that lasts for an extended period of time. One contributor to current climate change is global warming, which is an increase in Earth’s average temperature. Plants and animal species throughout the world are being affected by rising temperatures. Many plants are flowering earlier now than they once did; animals, such as the yellowbellied marmot, are emerging from hibernation earlier; and many bird and butterfly species are migrating north and breeding earlier in the spring than they did a few decades ago, all because of slight changes in temperature cues. (Shuster)